#but I put almost 13 hours into the first beta so it's at least got me by the throat in some kind of way

[midnightwind]

OH WAIT MON HUN WILDS BETA 2 IS TODAY NOTHING ELSE IS HAPPENING I'M GONNA GET RIPPED IN HALF BY ARKVELD INSTEAD WOOO

[agustdef]

Will You

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Black!Reader

Genre: Fluff; Idol AU/Idolverse

Word Count: 3k

Warning: Light Language

Rating: PG-13

Beta Reader: @hobeemin

A/N: This was due to idk and I have so many ideas that I simply didn’t write a ff that ended up posted for much too long. So here’s to hoping to finishing these ideas.

“And without further ado, I am more than happy to introduce you to our keynote speaker Ms. YN LN.”

Clapping fills the room, and Jungkook joins in a beat late. His mind wandered as he’d listened to the other speakers for almost an hour. They’d all had interesting things to say, but something about being in a room with all these people with a person at a podium felt too much like school. Plus, a few of them seemed just to enjoy hearing themselves talk.

He refused to admit that to YN, though.

His beautiful girlfriend tried to give him an out when he said he’d come with her for this event. Told him how boring it would be and that she didn’t mind if he just did something else until she was done. Of course, he pushed for it, and she relented with one final warning about how he’d be bored as hell. To a degree, he’d known that going into it, but he wanted to support her. And to see her in her element.

Though they both work in the same industry, they’re on different ends of it. Jungkook as an artist and occasional writer, while YN worked legal. Their first encounter was when an American artist friend of his invited her out to dinner as a thank you for helping him with a contract issue with his label. They’d made him promises and tried to backtrack when it was time for the new contract. YN worked at a firm that specialized in that kind of thing, though they usually worked with smaller artists. His friend had been her big break, bringing in business and a promotion.

Of course, Jungkook was too much of a punk to ask her for her number at that meeting. He was too nervous about if it was forward, and he didn’t want to mess with the mostly professional nature of the event. But he got her card, and that was enough.

Until they kept bumping into each other at the more business-like industry events. Well, half bumping into each other and the other half him hunting down her name on programs and making sure to show up to those panels or events. It made him feel like a little bit of a stalker, but to combat that, he finally got his shit together and asked her out after running into her at a restaurant. 

Grateful to not be turned down was an understatement.

As they got to know each other, he felt himself fall hard and fast. She was perfect. Not in how one thinks when they hear the word, but in how that worked for him. That made their relationship work through the lows as well as the highs. 

I love you slipped out of his mouth five months in. 

If that didn’t explain why he put himself through this boredom, nothing, else would at least not in a way that made sense. His members still sometimes looked at him crazy with how he felt about her and how he could only sometimes find the words to explain it in a coherent way.

“I promise to try not making this too boring for y’all. I can not, however promise it won’t be boring at all. My line of work has to have some pitfalls besides all that paperwork,” YN joked.

The entire room laughs. It’s not the funniest thing in the world, but the way she delivers it and the energy she exudes as a person gets to people. It’s why Jungkook lets out a laugh that’s a little too loud and draws the attention of those around him. And of YN, though she doesn’t look his way to make that clear. He just nose from the way she pauses for a second longer, and her smile widens. 

Embarrassed isn’t even the right word for him at the moment. Part of him wants to flee the room, but he stays in his seat. It helps that anyone who side eyes him switches to being shocked to see him there. Being identified as a member of BTS is what he can handle; being embarrassed is not, despite what his variety show content and the lives over the years might suggest.

To let the feeling pass, he focused on the stage. Well, on YN.

“For those who don’t know me, I’m YN LN, and I've been working at Heights Law for the last six or seven years,. We specialize in fair contracts for indie artists. From things with their label to tours, merchandise, the people they hire, and even contracts between members if it’s a group. About thirty-five percent of those we work with don’t even have a label they’re signed to and don’t want to. And then about twenty percent of our clients are more mainstream artists looking for the same services.

We don’t work with any sort of label because we feel it ties us to worrying too much about keeping on their good side when trying to figure things out. And while we are not on a mission to do anything that would be, for the lack of a better word, line crossing with the people we are trying to get to sign the contracts, our clients come first. That’s made us stand out in a way y’all may have heard about a time or two. I’d like to personally apologize for making you sit through articles about a certain label trying to screw over up and coming artist Minx and all the weird things that were honestly not so weird about her tour rider.”

Again laughter, but with some whispers and grumbles thrown in. That entire situation had everyone in the industry confused as hell, and for the last few months, they thought Minx was trying to be greedy until everything was settled and it was shown that all her asks weren’t as crazy as they’d seemed. Even Jungkook found himself looking at YN like she’d lost it with every new bit of information that was released. He’d asked her about it, but she gave him a look, and he had to wait out the outcome like everyone else. 

“And for this, I think Minx is the perfect situation to discuss. I mean, when else will you see how things can go when a former lawyer turned pop star wants to sign with the label she used to work for but knows all their tricks.”

That was all it took to have people enthralled. After everything settled, everyone still had a million questions about it, but they were still waiting for someone at the firm to answer them. Jungkook had the fortune of dating YN around the time, so he got her to tell him, and Minx had invited them somewhere and told him more. So, he knew everything.

Which meant he could just stare at her. He didn’t think of himself as the type to be much of a creepy person, even if him trying to run into her wasn’t a clear indication of that. That and that looking at her was one of his favorite pastimes. 

YNs cute.

He would and did use a million words to describe her. But the first thought in his brain when he saw her was how cute she was, and he felt his heart triple in size from that alone. Her genuine smile and soft features do a lot to counteract the fact that she’s only an inch shorter than me, which throws people off when they meet her and had only seen her face before.

Those legs of hers, when she wears heels, drive Jungkook absolutely feral. And he has to fight off the thought of them as his mind spirals. He focused instead on the light tint of pink pushing through the brown skin because of all the bright lighting, the way there’s a stray piece of hair not as curly as the rest that she swears isn’t from heat damage, and she can fix, the soft red of her lips, and the way every part of her body seems light and open as she talks about a subject she loves. A look he’s familiar with and is how he knows she looks at him. 

More than anything, Jungkook is sure that YN loves him as much as he loves her, and like a revelation, he knows how much that is. How much space that love takes up in him, to the point that sometimes it feels like it’s overflowing. Right now, it feels like it’s overflowing.

“Questions?”

That one word pulls him out of his head, but he looks at YN with a clarity he didn’t have a few minutes ago, let alone a few hours ago.

Someone clears their throat, but his eyes don’t leave her.

“Why not just go with what the label wanted? I mean, sure, Minx had the background, but that shouldn’t make her any different than any other artist. Should she not be thankful to get into the place twice on different sides of it?”

There was agreement in the crowd, but it died out quickly with everyone else's quietness drop quiet.

Despite the shift in vibes, there’s a smile on YN’s face. 

“Why do you think that? Is it because others don’t have that same knowledge? I can see how that could be seen as unfair because it is. But because she has the background,, she used it to help herself best,, which made it so we could best help her and those in the future. However, I can assure you that they changed their contract language a lot since then. Height and many other firms who deal with them and this kind of thing all saw a shift for the better and for the worst with them. So, while you may wonder why Minx didn’t simply take what she should be lucky to have gotten from them, I hope you’re settled by the fact that unless the rare thing happens. Someone else does the same thing, no one else will be able to give the insight on how to best make the next contract work for the client in the way she did.”

The response is assertive, sarcastic, and professionally annoyed. It doesn’t leave room for anyone to say anything that doesn’t make them look any more like an ass. But the man at the podium opens his mouth a few times to try and figure out what to say. In the end, he walks away from the mic with his head down. Jungkook is sure that if it weren’t for pride, he would walk out of the room altogether.

“Any more questions,” YN said after a moment.

There’s one that Jungkook has. One he needs answered, but he finds himself glued to his seat.

Several people go up and ask their questions, all of them better than the first one, though some of them toe the line. There are also a few that Jungkook would deem flirting, but they don’t bother him. Not with the thoughts swarming around in his head.

Before he knows it, she answers the last question, and everyone is dismissed. A few linger to talk, but with this day being so packed, everyone wants to rush off to the next talk or event happening.

He sits in the seat for about fifteen minutes before she walks up to him, and when she puts her hand on his shoulder, he looks up at her startled, even though he watched her approach him.

“Ready to go?”

Jungkook’s mouth opens and closes as he stares at her. He feels all over the place, but none of it’s uncertainty or doubt.

“I have a question,” he managed.

“Huh?”

“I have a question. I didn’t get the chance to ask it in there. I was… I’m nervous to ask it, and I couldn’t do it in there.”

YN frowned. “You can always ask me anything, my love. No need to be nervous about it. Plus, I’m sure yours is better than some of the bullshit I get asked in general when it comes to work.”

For a moment, Jungkook says nothing. All he can do is stare at her and try to keep his breathing normal. The latter is the hardest part, but YN takes his hand in hers and squeezes it tight.

Taking a breath, he gets to his feet, takes both of her hands in his, and stares into her eyes. He’s more than sure about what he has to say.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

Question nor answer was said with any hesitation. However, Jungkook could tell that YN was still trying to process what was happening. He was too, but that wasn’t important now.

After a second, Jungkook released one of her hands, and with the other firm in his grasp, he led her out of the room. He hears her ask a question, but it doesn’t fully register in his brain. All his focus is on weaving through the crowd of people and out the door of the convention center. The place isn’t as isolated as some can be, so he walked past the parking lot where his car is and made his way past the hotel they were staying at.

“Where are we going?”

“Jungkook?”

“Jay?”

There’s a loud exhale too, but Jungkook paid it no mind. He’s on a mission. 

“For goodness sake, Kookie.”

YN matches his pace though she’s clearly confused by what the hell is happening. He knew he should say something, but couldn’t find his words just yet, so he kept walking until ten minutes later, they were in front of a popular celebrity-use jewelry store.

A few of the things he bought for himself and others - YN included - were from here, so he had a code that they gave him to get in. The door buzzed them in, and the moment that they walked in, there was a person there and ready to help. Though it might not be obvious to most, it was clear from the knowing smile on the woman’s face she knew what was up. 

Didn’t stop Jungkook from being so flustered, though. 

“Hi. Engagement rings. I mean, we would like to see engagement rings.”

Without a word, she directed them to the back of the store. They followed close behind her, and when they entered the room, she’s taking them to another person is setting down a tray of rings, with others sitting on a cart behind him.

Yeah, she knew.

Once everything is on the table, the man leaves, and they’re directed to sit. The woman who welcomed them stands on the other side of the table.

“This is a collection of all the rings we sell in the store. Though there are others, we can have custom made if what you see in front of you isn’t the right fit or you want a mix of styles. There’s a mix of the traditional sort and the non-traditional. Some are even without diamonds. Please, take your time to look through them and see if something catches your eye.”

Then she’s gone, and all the sound goes with her.

“We’re doing this?”

“You asked me.”

“True.”

Jungkook finally turns and looks at her, and despite all the nerves he’s feeling about if she’ll take it back, there’s a smile on her face. And a lack of anxiety like what’s going through him. Though he can tell, she’s a little thrown off by it all.

“I did. And I want to.”

“Then we better start looking, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

All the tension that was once there leaves the room, and they both turn their attention to the hundreds of rings in front of them. It’s an overwhelming site, but they dive into them. Jungkook tries to get YN to try some on, but she says that she doesn’t want to just yet, so they set them on the empty tray right in front of them. 

Each one feels perfect to Jungkook, but not right. More of the diamond rings that look how he’s used to seeing American engagement rings look like end up on the tray, which isn’t much of a shock with YN’s usual preferences.

A tray marked as morganite is second to last, and Jungkook almost avoids it, but then one ring calls to him. His eyes zone in on it, and he reaches for it just as YN gasps. His neck nearly breaks when he turns to look at her, but the slight pain means nothing as he follows her gaze to the ring he was reaching for.

Without another thought, he picks it up, takes her hand, and slides it into place. Though it’s a little loose, it fits her finger. The oval champagne colored gem is on a white gold band and surrounded on either side with diamonds that fan out, almost like leaves on the stem of a flower. They wrap perfectly around her finger and stop before they reach the palm side. Everything about it is YN. Is them.

“Perfection,” YN whispered.

“Yeah.”

And like the whirlwind that this was, Jungkook was happy to find that they had the same ring, the right size, on the premises, and he paid for it right then and there. It only left YN’s finger so they could clean it, and then it was on again.

They walked out of the room, and both were on a cloud. All those nerves Jungkook felt before were gone, but something else replaced it.

“I guess we have a wedding to plan. I can’t imagine when we’d even have it,” YN said.

“Now.”

Not the least bit startled, she turned to him with a raised brow. 

“Now?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe?”

Silence sat between them for what felt like forever, and then YN turned her attention back to the jeweler.

“We need to see wedding bands, too,” she said, then turned back to Jungkook. “And you need to start making phone calls.”

[czargasm]

Chelsey czargasm's Fics of 2024

Stealing this from my beloved @scoops404 because it seems fun and because I easily spent 50+ hours betaing for her this year, so I earned it. Go check out her fic roundup if you're looking for some great DNF to read.

The premise: every fic I wrote in 2024 from my personal least favorite to my personal favorite. I included all pairings, which this year were DNF, ANF, and dip&pip. The fic I co-wrote with @alittledizzy, in sickness and in health, isn't included, but you should go check it out if you want some beautiful Dan and Phil medical hurt/comfort in a tour setting.

Overall stats: 13 fics (including the cowritten one); 186,737 words.

The Glow Squid Hunter - T - 19,260 - This was written for the Fairytales from the SMP collab and is a retelling of the Scottish folktale "The Seal Catcher" with Dream as the titular hunter and George as a glow squid shapeshifter (my first and only "minecraft setting" to date). I really struggled writing this one, which is what puts it at the bottom of my list. This fic taught me that less is more with outlining and that I operate best as a discovery writer, which is incredibly important to know.

Swipe Right - E - 9,848 - A one shot inspired by a tweet. DNF meet on a dating app and get together, but with a few twists along the way. It does what it says on the tin. A fun fic, but ultimately not my favorite.

I Like The Way You Look In My Things - E - 3,926 - Written in one day over two sittings, with a break for an existential crisis in between. Inspired by the bracelet George was wearing on his birthday stream. Basically pwp, but nothing wrong with that.

without consequence - E - 5,563 - A summer bingo fic—this one centered around DNF giving each other a hall pass but ultimately deciding they belong to just each other. There's not much to say about this one except that it was fun to write and gave me the opportunity to revisit the ANF dynamic, which is something I love.

The Waiting Game - E - 10,783 - My own take on the "how DNF finally got together" trope, following the development of their romantic relationship from discord chats through twitch con, Antarctica, Christmas, and finally getting together during a very special week in Jan 2023. The highlight for this really is the bathtub scene, which is so romantic it actually makes my chest hurt.

staring at the sun - E - 2,956 - The summer bingo fics really pushed me outside my normal type of writing, as best shown here. PWP but with a whole mess of stuff added in. My shortest fic of the year, but it accomplishes a lot in just a few words. DNF from the perspective of awesamdude in the cuck chair, complete with edging, mild bondage, and soft-dom Dream.

A Voice in the Dark - E - 18,297 - This is a fic that was more fun in concept than it was in writing. It's ultimately really good fic with a lot of fun tropes snuck in there -- secret identity, falling in love with someone based on their voice, they were roommates.

here kitty, kitty - T - 8,265 words - George makes the wrong witch angry and gets transformed into a cat; cat lover Dream saves the day. This was another summer bingo fic and when I came up with the idea, I thought it would be a crackfic. Instead, it ended up being silly but incredibly sweet and heartfelt and inspired some of my favorite fan art ever.

This Would Never Happen on the Hallmark Channel - E - 18,909 - Probably recency bias, but this one was SO MUCH FUN to write. My last fic of the year too, so if you haven't read it, what are you waiting for? Dream writes Hallmark Channel movies and George is starring in his most recent one. Strangers become friends with benefits become lovers, all while trying to keep things on the downlow so Mr Hallmark doesn't find out. Guys, it's so fun and so good, I promise!!

Holding On For Just Tonight - E (4,207 words) - my first ever phanfic. I almost trashed this so many times because I wasn't confident in writing Dan and Phil's voices, but it ultimately turned out really good and I'm pretty proud of it. Definitely looking forward to exploring this dynamic more in 2025.

Our Own Terrible Way - E - 34,290 - This is probably the most popular fic I ever published and most of my regular readers (not all, but many!) found me through this one. George and Austin start a FWB situation that ultimately ends with George and Dream finally getting together. I loved writing it, I love rereading it, I love talking about it. It made me fall in love with Austin as a character and ANF as a pairing, and I always want to do more with them.

Every Mountain Tells A Story - E - 43,072 - Literally no one should be surprised. This isn't just my favorite fic of the year--it's my favorite thing I've ever written. I got to combine two of my very best hyperfixations into one fic: DNF and high altitude mountaineering disasters. It's not my most popular fic sadly (I think it should be), but the people who read it LOVED IT and they've been very devoted to it since. I still regularly get asks and comments about it, and I never get tired of talking about it.

[jobrookekarev]

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Words: 20,622

Summary: It's the first Christmas that Jo and Alex are spending with Luna and Helena at home, rather than in the hospital. Both of them are determined to make it the best Christmas they've ever had. Although they don't get to go up to the mountains to see the snow, they still managed to make Christmas magical and spend it with their friends and family.

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy.

Relationships: Alex Karev/Jo Wilson, 

Characters: Alex Karev, Jo Wilson, Luna Wilson, Helena Karev, Helen Karev, Amber Karev, And more mentioned at the Christmas party.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences (Because Alex swears when he can’t put together the dollhouse.)

Additional Tags: Fluff, Pure Fluff, Kids, Babies, Christmas Tree Farm, Christmas Tree, Ornaments, Cookies, The Flu, Snow, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Presents, A Christmas Party, Reeses the Dog, A little bit of emotional healing, Jo and Alex want another baby, It’s so fluffy I'm going to die. Seriously this is going to make you cry!

Read at AO3

Read at FFN

AN: A day late but oh well. Now that I finally have a diagnosis I’ve been lucky enough to have enough good days to work on this story. But I have surgery just before the new year and I'll probably be out for a couple of weeks, so enjoy and happy holidays!

A very special thank you to Mac @mac-andcheeses for Beta reading for me.

Also For reference, Luna is 20 months (1 ¾ ), Helena is 13 months (1). 

……………………………………………………………………

Jo's boots sunk into the mud as they walked through the damp, muddy trails around the Christmas tree farm. It was a typical gray Washington day with dark clouds and sprinkles of rain with fog that hung around the mountains. It was November 28th, and after a week of work where Jo had almost missed Thanksgiving, her husband almost burned down the house, and they just had a Saturday birthday for their newly one-year-old daughter Helena. 

Jo had wanted to enjoy her Sunday relaxing at home with her family. However, apparently, her husband had other plans and insisted they go get a Christmas tree. Jo had easily agreed, thinking that they would just go to the local hardware store and get a tree from the racks, but Alex insisted on going to a real Christmas tree farm. Thus, now the four of them were an hour away in Snohomish to cut down their own tree. 

“What about this one?” Jo said as she stood in front of a Christmas tree that was a little taller than her with big green bushy branches. 

“Tee,” Helena babbled as she reached out from where she was strapped to Jo's chest in the baby carrier, her little mitten covered hand grasping onto the branch and giving it a tug before Jo untangled her fingers from the tree. 

“I don't know, it doesn't look right,” Alex said as he paused and tilted his head to stare at the tree. 

He had said that about every tree Jo suggested so far, and at this point, she was beginning to think that his search for the perfect tree was an endless endeavor. 

“Little,” Luna said, also tilting her head at the tree like Alex did from where she was on his hip as he carried her. 

Luna had started out insisting that she walk with them. However, her boot got stuck and she ended up stepping in the cold mud with her bare foot. She had cried like it was the end of the world, but to her, it was. So, after Alex picked her up and Jo cleaned off her foot, she refused to be set back down, and Alex agreed to carry her the rest of the way. Jo thought he was babying her just a little, but she understood why. 

Luna was getting so big and more independent each day, both girls were. They loved to run and explore rather than be held or contained in the stroller. Helena barely tolerated the carrier unless Jo gave her a pacifier and she missed the days when both girls loved to be held by her all day long. She knew Alex missed it too, so neither of them protested when Luna asked to be carried.

“I agree with you, Little Moon. We need something bigger for our big new house. We need at least a seven-footer,” Alex said with a nod as he walked through the rows of trees in search of something bigger.

“A seven-footer?” Jo said mostly to herself, although she looked down at Helena, who was watching Alex and Luna walk ahead of them. 

“Oot-er,” Helena said, trying to say the word footer. She was repeating everything at this stage. It made Jo smile as she leaned down and kissed the top of her light red knitted hat that was a winter present from Grandma Helen. 

“That's right baby, footer, your Daddy is in search of a big tree this year,” Jo said, complaining just a little bit, but Alex had promised her hot coffee and a cookie when they were done. Besides, the look on his face and the way the excitement seemed to radiate off of him was well worth the cold winter morning pine fest.

They wandered around the tree farm and this time Jo followed behind Alex letting him lead the way. He inspected a few trees, ultimately deciding that none of them were perfect and going off in search of a different one. Luna had eventually gotten restless in Alex's arms and now enjoyed running around in the areas that were less muddy through the rows of trees. Jo let Helena join her until the two of them got a little lost and she and Alex swooped back in and picked them up. 

Helena seemed just as bored as she was and had started to fuss as Jo pulled out the pacifier from her pocket, only for Helena to immediately spit it out into the mud and fuss even more. Jo wrapped her arms around her and tried to bounce a bit more, swaying back and forth each time they stopped at a tree. She finally started to calm back down just as Alex stopped in front of another tall tree, looking it up and down as Jo walked to catch up with him and Luna.

“What do you think Jo?” Alex asked, glancing over at her before he looked back at the tree. 

Luna and Alex were standing in front of a gigantic, bushy tree with pine needles that looked practically white as she reached out to touch it.

“You want this one?” Jo asked, looking between the tree and her husband’s smile.

“Yeah, look at it, it's a beautiful Nordmann fir. It's even got the white tips you liked on that fake tree we saw at the hardware store,” Alex said as he looked over at the tree and set Luna down as he got the bag that held the saw. “See, I told you those vaulted ceilings in the living room would be great for a tall Christmas tree and now we can get an eight foot tall tree!”

“We don't even have enough lights for it,” Jo said, looking at the massive size of the tree. 

“I'll buy more,” Alex declared with a shrug as he put his hands on his hips.

“I don't know,” Jo said, looking up and down the massive tree as Helena reached out and grasped onto it. 

“Tee tee,” Helena said as she pulled on the branches coming away with a few pine needles in her grasp as she giggled.

“Big tee!” Luna said with wide eyes as she looked at it, raising up her arms and going up on her tiptoes as if she could reach the top when she barely reached up halfway. 

“Jo, what's wrong?” Alex asked, and Jo realized she was biting her lip as she glanced over to catch Alex’s look of concern. 

“Are you sure it's not too big?” Jo asked as she looked up at the tree again before she looked between her husband and daughters, who all seemed delighted and fascinated with the tree. “It doesn't look like it will fit in the living room.”

“It will fit. I made space for it this morning and the ceilings are ten feet tall, so it'll be fine if that's what you’re worried about?” Alex said, looking over at her and raising his eyebrows.

“I don't know why you insist on having a real tree this year, especially one that's big?” Jo said, ignoring his look as she looked up at the tree that towered above her.

“Why not? We’ve got the room for it, so I figured why shouldn't we go out all out for Christmas this year,” Alex said as he glanced back at the tree with a shrug. “But I get that it is a lot.”

“Just let me think about it,” Jo said, as she glanced at the tree. 

Alex nodded solemnly before he looked back at the tree with a large smile. The last time she had a tree this big was, well, never. They had always just gotten smaller Christmas trees in the past. She wasn't sure why Alex insisted on going all out this year by getting eight-foot tall Nordmann fir. Yet, she suspected it had something to do with the fact that this was their first official Christmas as a family. Last year they had been too tired taking care of a newborn to do much other than putting up a tree with string lights around it and a few ornaments. They hadn't even gotten Luna yet as she was still in the hospital and they had spent most of their time there with her. 

Jo remembered how they had spent Christmas day in the hospital with Luna and the few gifts they had gotten for the girls. Luna was barely sitting up by herself and she was still in the hospital due to her delays and the Nissen fundoplication. Helena was nursing around the clock and Jo felt like a sleep deprived cow. She remembered that Christmas as being a tired mom of two kids, a newborn and one in the hospital, still scared that they wouldn't be able to bring Luna home. She didn’t even remember what Alex got her for Christmas, just that he let her nap in the spare bed in Luna’s room for a whole two hours while he took the girls on a walk around the Ped’s floor.

This year it was different. They had two healthy baby girls who were more toddlers than babies these days than they were. They walked and ran around their house and filled it with laughter and joy. It was the first Christmas with the four of them as a family at home. She watched as Alex picked up Luna and put her on his shoulders so she could reach up and touch the top of the tree, just barely with her fingertips. He told her how she could put the star on the top when they got home and Luna smiled so big and brightly. She knew that he wanted to make Christmas special for their girls, and for her too, and Jo realized that she wanted this Christmas to be special too.

“Well, if you agree to vacuum up all the pine needles that fall every day, I don't see why we shouldn't get it,” Jo said with a smile, watching Alex’s eyes light up in delight as he looked back at her. “So, are you going to cut it down or am I?” 

Alex didn't say anything in reply, he just leaned forward and kissed her, letting all of his enthusiasm flow through his lips as Jo reached up and put a hand on his cheek. Although, it didn’t last for long as Luna's little hands reached out from where she was still on Alex's shoulders and pushed on their foreheads to pull them apart.

“No, tee!” Luna insisted as Jo and Alex pulled back and he reached up to pull her off his shoulders. 

“Alright, Luna-Lu, let's get us a Christmas tree,” Alex said as he set her down and Jo reached out to Luna to pick her up and settle her on her hip next to Helena. “Jo, what are you doing?”

Jo gave him a look as her eyebrows knitted together. “What are you talking about?”

“You can't carry both of the girls,” Alex said, reaching out to pick up Luna and hold her again as Luna looked between the two of them, just as confused as Jo was.

“Why not? I do it all the time, and I don't want her getting in the way when you use the saw,” Jo said, reaching out for Luna again. 

“Just stand back and hold her hand,” Alex said as he set Luna down next to her. 

Jo narrowed her eyes at him before she finally realized what he was doing. “Is this because we're trying for another baby? Because if so, I'm going to knock you over the head.”

“You have to start being careful. I don't want you to put too much strain on yourself,” Alex said, looking back at her, his wide smile returning as he looked at her with soft eyes.

“We started trying yesterday Alex. There's no way I'm pregnant,” Jo said, rolling her eyes so hard she thought she would get a headache as she reached down to pick up Luna again.

“You could be,” Alex said, looking down at her with a smile as he reached out to grab her hip and pull her in for another quick kiss. Helena started to fuss as she always did when she was trapped between them and they pulled apart as Alex kissed her head and she quitted. 

Jo lightly pushed him away, but she couldn't help but smile. “Just cut down the tree Alex.” 

“Yes, ma'am,” Alex said, going to pick up the saw and reaching down to cut down the tree. He had to get down on his knees and go in between the branches, but it gave Jo a good view of his butt. 

It took quite a while, but Jo let him do it and he didn't complain like she thought he would. Soon enough, the tree came tumbling down with a light puff of water coming from the branches that spread around them. Alex stood up so proud of himself as he looked down at the tree before looking over at them. Jo only smirked as she adjusted Luna on her hip and I remembered how far away they were from the car. 

“Alright, Dr. Karev, you got the tree you wanted, now let's head back to the car,” Jo said as she turned to walk away, but she only went a few steps before she turned around to see Alex struggling with the large tree. 

“The farm has help for this, right?” Alex said as he started to drag the large tree a couple of feet at a time.

“Yeah, I'll go ahead and see if they have a couple of people to come help you,” Jo said before she looked at Luna. “Luna, you want to come with me or stay and help Daddy with the tree?” 

Luna looked back at where Alex was struggling with the tree before looking up at her. “Mama.”

“Good choice baby girl,” Jo said, leaning in to kiss her cheek as the three of them walked ahead. 

“This isn't fair, you know,” Alex called back to her. “If you put Luna down, could you help me?”

“But I wouldn't want to strain myself, especially if I'm pregnant,” Jo said, turning around with a smile as she put a hand over her lower stomach as Helena lightly kicked her arm. 

Alex just narrowed his eyes at her and Jo laughed as she turned around and walked away, leaving him with the tree. It took a few minutes to walk back to where the farm attendant was and then to walk back with one of the teenagers working there. He easily lifted up part of the tree and helped Alex carry it back to the front so they could wrap it and strap it to the car. 

Jo was glad that they took her Nissan leaf instead of Alex's Audi, as there's no way the trade would fit on top of that. As he and the teenager wrapped the tree as she got the girls buckled in before she knew it, their eight-foot tree was strapped to the top of the car. Jo got into the front seat as Alex thanked the teen and gave him a tip before getting in the driver’s seat. 

“Ready to go home?” Alex asked as he started the car, that same big happy smile that had been on his face since they got there across his cheeks and she wondered how his cheeks weren't hurting right now because of how long he had been smiling. 

But she let herself smile too. “Yeah, let's take our tree home.” 

Alex leaned forward across the center console, putting his hand on her cheek as he pulled her in for a quick kiss. Although, Jo pulled him back to linger there as she tilted her head and properly kissed him before she let him pull back. She could see the sparkle in Alex's eyes as he smiled at her and she knew it was reflected in her own eyes. 

“You know,” Alex said as he started up the car and headed out of the parking lot. “If we have another baby, we're probably going to need to buy a bigger car as I don't think we can fit three car seats in your car or mine.” 

“Well, we can talk about that after I get pregnant,” Jo said, glancing over at him with a slight glare despite her smile. “But it'd be nice to at least keep one of the smaller cars for times when it's just us or if we take out just one or two of the kids.”

“Still… we should start looking now,” Alex said with a shrug as he bit his lip to hide his smile. “I saw a minivan online that looks kind of nice.”

“You want a minivan?” Jo said, looking over at him and wondering who had replaced her husband. 

“I'm just saying it'd be pretty practical, besides the minivan, these days are kind of nice, lots of storage, extra legroom, that sort of thing,” Alex said, glancing over at her with a shrug. 

Jo shook her head as she looked straight ahead, watching the road for a second. “I agree that we need a bigger car, but I don't think we should get a minivan.”

“Okay,” Alex said, although he smiled as he looked over at her. “But if we have twins.”

“Don’t even speak that into existence Alexander,” Jo said as she turned back to him with a glare. “I agreed to try for one more baby, just one!”

“I'm just saying you never know,” Alex said, looking back at her with a smirk. “Twins do run in both of our families.”

“Very distantly in our families,” Jo reminded him as she pointed a finger at him. “Besides, Luna and Helena are practically twins anyway. They're barely six months apart and developmentally, it's more like four or five.”

“Well, that just means we've got all the practice we need,” Alex said, smiling a little too confidently in her opinion. She reached over and smacked his arm, but he just laughed and smiled as he glanced over at her. Jo rolled her eyes as she looked back out the window because, with her luck, they would end up with twins.

The girls fell asleep on the ride home and Jo stared out at the window, watching the rain fall and the fog around the mountains linger as they drove back into the city. It was a weekend, so they didn't run into traffic which was nice, and before she knew it, the hour long drive was over and they were pulling into the driveway. Alex gave her a smile but remained quiet as they got out of the car. Jo went around to the back door and pulled it open to see that their girls were still sleeping. 

They had napped almost the entire drive, but she and Alex still carefully tried to pick them up out of their car seats without waking them up. It was a difficult maneuver that they both failed at. As soon as Jo lifted Helena out of her car seat, her little eyes fluttered open as she looked around. She was always cranky after her naps and immediately started crying as Jo held her close. Her cries woke up Luna as she started crying too and she and Alex quickly went inside. 

They greeted Reeses in the mudroom as their three-year-old chocolate lab danced around their feet, excited to see them as always. Still, he patiently waited for pets until they got the girls settled. After they made lunch, Alex refused to eat and immediately went to work on the tree, bringing it into the house with only a minor setback when Reeses thought it was a large toy for him. Still, Alex managed to set it up and adjust the position in the corner next to the sliding glass doors that overlooked the backyard. Jo just sat at the counter in the kitchen next to the girls in their high chairs as they ate. She watched Alex adjust the tree a few times before he deemed it to be perfect and stepped back to look at it.

“What do you think Jo?” Alex asked, still staring at the tree.

“It looks really nice,” Jo said, admiring it too.

Alex turned around and glanced at her as she just smiled at him. He came over and put his hand on the back of her chair as he leaned in and gave her a kiss. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him before he pulled back. 

“Alright,” Alex said, looking at the girls. “Who wants to help Daddy get the Christmas decorations?”

“Dada,” Helena babbled excitedly as she held her arms out for him to pick her up.

“That's my girl Lena,” Alex said, grabbing a rag from the kitchen counter and wiping away the peanut butter from her sandwich that she had smeared all over her face and hands before he picked her up. 

Alex held Helena as he quickly rushed out to the garage to grab the Christmas decorations. Jo sat next to Luna as the two of them continued to finish their lunch. Luna continued to enjoy the pretzels with Jo as the two of them watched Alex and Helena come back and forth between that garage carrying boxes. Alex would occasionally let Helena carry a few things like a string of lights or a bow which she would carefully deposit next to the tree before rushing back to the garage.

There were only a few boxes and as Alex and Helena went back to grab the last one, Jo picked up Luna and walked back over to the tree. She sat down with Luna in her lap as she opened the first box. They always wrapped the ornaments in whatever newspaper they could find and Jo reached for the first little wrapped ornament. She carefully unwrapped it in her hands and showed it to Luna. 

“Look! It’s Santa,” Jo said to her as she handed the tiny little red Santa ornament to her. “Go put it on the tree Luna.”

Luna stood up and walked over to the tree, placing an ornament on the branches only to have it fall down to the floor, but luckily it was made of metal. 

“Uh oh,” Luna said, looking down at the ornament and she picked it up again. 

“Here, hang it like this,” Jo said, grabbing the string of the ornament and guiding Luna’s hand as they placed it on the tree together. This time it stayed on the branch and Jo sat back as Luna stared at it. 

She heard the familiar sound of Helena's babbles as she ran over and deposited a roll of ribbon at Jo's feet. Then she walked over and grabbed the ornament that Luna had just placed, tugging it off the tree. Luna screeched as she reached for the ornament in Helena's hand and grabbed it back. This caused Helena to cry as Jo reached over to pick her up. Luckily Alex came running and picked up Luna to comfort her.

“Lena, Luna placed that ornament on the tree. That's where the ornaments go, see you look.” Jo said, quickly reaching for another ornament and unwrapping a bell that she wiggled in front of Helena's face as her tears stopped and she reached for the bell and Jo showed her how to place it on the tree. “See, ornaments belong on the tree. Do you think you could help me play some other ones?” 

“Here Lena,” Alex said, appearing next to her as he unwrapped one of the ornaments. To her surprise, it was a little handprint that Alex had made of Helena's tiny little newborn hand their first Christmas together. “Look, that's your little handprint.”

Helena crawled out of her lap and over to Alex as Jo reached into the box again, grabbing the one next to it and unwrapping it to find the matching one. 

“And look Luna, this one is yours,” Jo said, coaxing her forward from where she was standing away from Helena, still clutching the Santa ornament. Luna seemed intrigued by her own handprint and came forward as Jo reached out to pull her into her lap. She put the ornament in front of her as they both stared down at it. 

“Your hand was so little back then. I have another one of these from when you were first born that I made for your mama Val, and your hand with this little,” Jo said, holding her fingers together over the handprint to show how much smaller Luna's hand was.

“Next year, we'll have to do another handprint for the new baby,” Alex said as she looked over to catch him smiling over her.

“Or maybe next Christmas I'll still be pregnant,” Jo said as she picked up Luna and the two of them put the handprint ornament on the tree. 

She set Luna back down after they placed ornaments and heard Alex chuckle as she felt his arms wrapped around her waist. He put his head on her shoulder, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “We'll have a baby before then and hopefully not a newborn like last year.”

“I don't know… we started trying for Helena around Christmas time and it took us a few months to conceive her, so it'll probably take a few months to get pregnant again,” Jo said, although she couldn’t help but smile, thinking about having another baby before next Christmas as she watched the Luna and Helena play with the string of ribbon. 

“Trust me, I'll get you pregnant in no time,” Alex said, sounding far too sexy as he whispered in her ear and pressed up against her. 

Yet, Jo still giggled as she put her arms over his, as he moved his hands down to her belly like he used to do when she was pregnant with Helena. She smiled as she looked over at their two girls playing with the ribbon. They had unraveled it and Helena danced around Luna as she held the spool. The room was filled with their giggles as they danced around Reeses as he wiggled his tail and got tangled up in the ribbon. 

Alex kissed her cheek and Jo smiled as she pulled away from him and sat back down. She smiled at the girls and let them play with the ribbon as she started to pull out a few other ornaments while Alex got out the lights. Although she caught Alex giving her that look. It was a little bit of love mixed in with a bit of lust and she couldn't help but lick her lips, knowing how it would drive him crazy. Alex just shook his head as he went back to untangling the lights because, unlike when they were trying to conceive Helena, they couldn't just try for a baby in their living room whenever they felt like it. Now they had two other baby girls to take care of, as well as a Christmas tree to decorate. Jo continued to pull out the other ornaments while the girls and Reeses played around them. 

“Hey, don't put any more on, I got to put the lights up first,” Alex said, glancing down at her as he pulled at the lights.

“Seriously?” Jo said, looking at the few ornaments she had already hung up.

“In my defense, I didn't know you had to do the lights first until like last year,” Alex I said with a shrug as he smiled over at her. He seemed to do nothing but smile at her today.

“I guess that means we should do the ribbon afterwards?” Jo said, looking over to where Luna had started to wrap it around Helena like she was a mummy. “Luna, Lena, can you bring Mommy the ribbon?”

Luna and Helena paused as they looked over at her before they smiled and tried to run over. Although Helena fell and Jo quickly reached out to pick her up only to see that she was giggling. She giggled as well as she untied the ribbon from around Helena. 

Jo got up as the two of them started to wrap up at the ribbon again and Alex took Luna as they started to try out the lights to see which ones were still working. Before she knew it, they had all of the lights up on the tree and Jo and Helena finished wrapping the red ribbon around it. Alex ran over and flicked off the lights as the four of them stood back and stared at the tree. 

“What do you think?” Alex whispered, a little hesitant as he glanced over at her, but Jo didn't look at him, instead just staring at the tree.

“It’s perfect,” Jo said as she stared at the tree, completely mesmerized by it, just like Luna and Helena. 

It was the perfect Christmas tree and they haven't even put ornaments on it yet. It was tall and beautiful and it sparkled with the lights. She looked over at Luna and Helena as they just stared at it. Helena reached out to touch it, but Jo held her back, knowing that she would pull it down. For her entire childhood, she had never had a Christmas tree as beautiful as this. As she looked down at her daughters, she couldn't help the tears that welled up in her eyes. They would always have a Christmas tree like this and they would grow up knowing what it was like to have a happy Christmas every single year. 

Helena started wiggling in her arms and Jo set her down as she walked up to the tree. Alex set down Luna as well as the two girls sat next to each other on the floor and stared up at the tree. Luna reached out and brushed her fingers along the pine needles as a huge smile bloomed across her face. Jo smiled as she watched their girls and Alex wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Jo,” Alex's soft voice in her ear caused her to turn her head back to look at him. “Are you really ready to have another baby?” 

Jo looked back at the girls and she imagined another little baby with them. They would have Alex's smirk and her fat cheeks. She imagined them sitting next to their older sisters as the girls looked up at the tree. She could almost see it now.

“I’m absolutely ready.” Jo smiled as she glanced back at Alex staring into his eyes as he just smiled at her and she turned around in his arms and leaned in to kiss him. 

……………………………………………………………………

The clanging of a pan and the cursing of his wife are the first things Alex heard when he stepped through the door into the mudroom off the garage. He immediately dropped his bag and ran around the corner into the kitchen to see a cookie sheet of black gingerbread cookies on the floor of the kitchen with Jo standing over them, cursing next to the open oven door. Reeses ran around the corner into the kitchen from the living room, eager to gobble them up, as Alex quickly grabbed him. He looked around for Helena and Luna only to see them laughing from where they were in their high chairs at the kitchen counter surrounded by dozens of tubs of frosting, and candy, and gingerbread making materials, as well as a few more pans of burnt gingerbread cookies. 

“I'm sorry to scare you,” Jo said, quickly grabbing the pan with an oven mitt and putting it on top of the stove as she closed the oven door. “It was so hot and it just slipped out of my mitt.”

“It's all right,” Alex said as he looked down at Reeses before he let go of his collar though he looked at the dog with a pointed finger. “Leave it.”

Reeses whined but left the cookies on the floor alone and went to walk around where Helena and Luna were as they were bound to drop things. They usually let him eat whatever fell on the floor, but Alex didn’t want him to burn his mouth. Thankfully Reeses was good enough to leave when he or Jo told him to. Alex went and grabbed the broom to help Jo as she began to pick up the cookie pieces. 

“I didn't know you were making cookies today,” Alex said with a smile as he swept up the broken cookies.

“It was just kind of a spur of the moment thing. I was out grocery shopping with the girls and they saw one of those little gingerbread house making kits, so I bought that and a bunch of other stuff. I figured it wouldn't be too hard to make some gingerbread cookies too, cuz you know it's Christmas. So I got a recipe online and I followed it to a T, but they didn't weren’t done by the time the recipe said. So I just let them cook a little longer in the oven, but then they burnt and then the other batch was undercooked and then I accidentally left these ones too long and well.” 

Jo sighed as she gestured to the black cookies that she had in her hands before she tossed them into the garbage. 

“Well, I'm here, so maybe I can help. Besides, there's always the gingerbread house kit,” Alex said as he finished sweeping up in the kitchen and tossed the remainder of the cookies into the garbage can. “I hope you girls saved some frosting for Daddy.” 

Alex looked up to see Luna and Helena giggling with frosting across their faces as Luna offered him the tube she was holding and he happily accepted it before he looked back to Jo only to see her frown.

“The pieces to the house we're stuck together and when I tried to separate them, they all broke,” Jo said, gesturing to the box of the broken gingerbread house pieces on the counter.

“Well, maybe, we'll just go and get the Costco on that one's bound to turn out fine and the store has cookies you can decorate,” Alex said with a shrug as he walked over to her.

“Yeah, but I wanted to make real cookies, homemade like all the other moms do,” Jo said as she sighed and leaned against the counter, looking at the mass of cookies and treats. 

“Hey,” Alex said, walking up and wrapping his arms around her waist, but Jo still looked away. “It doesn't matter that it's a disaster, the girls clearly don't care. I mean, look at them, they're laughing and having fun eating frosting and candy. So what if you’re not the perfect Christmas cookie-making mom. You’re still a good mom, and you’re good enough for me and you’re good enough for the girls.”

Jo smiled as she looked up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck as he leaned in to kiss her. However, something was off, Jo’s lips felt a little warmer than usual. He pulled back and put a hand on her forehead as Jo’s eyebrows came together as she looked up at him. 

“You're a little warm, are you feeling okay?” Alex asked, dropping his hand as he looked at her cheeks. They were flushed and she looked a little tired, but it had been a long day for her.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Jo quickly brushed him off like she always did. “It must just be the heat from the oven or something.”

Alex, however, wasn't quite convinced. “Why don't you let me take your temperature, just to be sure.”

“Alex, really, I'm fine. I'm just tired, that's all,” Jo insisted, as she leaned her head against his shoulder, almost convincing him that it was just that.

“What about the girls?” Alex asked, looking over at them. 

Their laughter had stopped and he looked over to see that Luna was bent over with her cheek on the counter fast asleep, a little bit of drool coming from her mouth. Alex looked over at Helena just in time to see her turn a little green before she proceeded to throw up all over herself and the counter before she began to cry. Jo and Alex quickly rushed over to her as Alex grabbed the roll of paper towels and Jo picked her up out of her high chair and quickly worked to undress her from her blue onesie, tugging it down her shoulders. 

“It's probably just the cookies that made them sick, I think the ones I gave them were a little underbaked, and Luna probably just crashed from her sugar high. We're not sick,” Jo insisted as she moved to careful rock Helena as Alex wiped the towel over her cheeks.

“Uh-huh,” Alex said, giving her a look that Jo ignored.

“I'm going to take her upstairs. Can you get Luna?” Jo asked that she put Helena on her shoulder, rubbing up and down her back as she tried to get her settled, but Helena continued to cry.

“Yeah, I got her,” Alex said, looking over at Luna, who was completely dead to the world and not even the smell of her sister’s puke had woken her up, but Alex still quickly moved to clean it up before it did.

“We're not sick,” Jo insisted again as Alex looked over to see her climb the stairs glaring at him over the railing.

“Yeah, yeah,” Alex said as he went back to cleaning up the mess in the kitchen before looking down at Reeses, who was at his feet. “Not sick, my ass.”

……………………………………………………………………

Jo groaned as she woke up, opening her eyes and looking around the dark master bedroom. She felt Helena asleep on her chest and Luna pressed up against her side, her head on Jo’s shoulder as the feeling of nausea swelled inside of her again. She laid back and stared up at the ceiling as she willed herself to keep her food down. She had barely eaten anything in the past two days since they fell ill, just soup and crackers here and there. The only light was the little sliver of light that seeped under the bathroom door and the room was dark enough for her to question how long she had been asleep as she glazed over at the clock to see that it was 4:30 pm. The early sunsets in the winter always threw her off whether she was sick or not. 

She and the girls fell asleep for an afternoon nap and Alex must have let them sleep. Despite how she had denied it at first, there was no denying it now. She and the girls were sick. After Alex had gotten home two nights before, things had gone downhill from then, with the three of them camping out and Jo and Alex's bed for the past two days. Only getting out to shower or change the sheets when somebody inevitably puked on the bed or had a diaper blowout. She and the girls were absolutely miserable, all three of them had been running fevers, puking, and were generally tired, cranky messes. Thankfully Alex was the only one who managed not to get sick and worked around the clock to care for the three of them, even taking off a few days of work. 

Both of the girls had latched onto her and barely let Alex comfort them as they only wanted her. Helena had acted exactly like her father did when he got sick and only wanted to cuddle and lay on her. Although, she barely nursed and would rather use Jo as a human pacifier. Luna had clung to Jo and refused to be parted from her, except on the rare occasion when Alex managed to settle her and Helen so that Jo could sit in the shower alone. 

As the nausea rose again, Jo knew that it was definitely coming back up this time. She carefully picked up Helena, careful not to wake her up, and set her down next to Luna. She slipped her arm out from under Luna’s head and placed it on the pillow before she rolled over and reached for the puke bowl just in time for a few crackers and applesauce that she had eaten to come back up. 

She heard the bathroom door open as the lights streamed in. She stared down at the bowl and heaved again before she felt Alex sit down on the bed next to her and rub her shoulders. 

“Hang on, Mere, Jo's throwing up again.” She heard him say as he turned on the bedside lamp.

She closed her eyes, and finally the nausea passed. Alex wiped her lips with a warm rag and handed her a cup of water, but Jo turned her head away as she rolled back over to lay down. 

As she looked up at Alex, he had the phone pressed up against his shoulder as he looked down at her in concern. He brushed away a few strands of her dark brown hair that had come out of her bun. Jo closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. However, Alex used her moment of weakness against her as he ran the thermometer over her forehead and she looked up to glare at him. He insisted on checking their temperature every hour and keeping a record of it. It drove her crazy. It was bad enough that he dragged her and the girls in to see Hayes the day before, only to have him confirm that it was just the strand of flu that was going around in the daycare. If she kept puking, Alex would insist they go to the ER and hook her up to an IV. He might be quick to go to the hospital, but Jo wanted to avoid it as much as she could. It was just the flu and Jo knew she wasn't dehydrated, yet. She loved him, but whenever she and the girls got sick, he got way too overprotective and worried about them.

“Yeah, Jo’s still running a fever of 100.1. I don't think we're going to be able to travel,” Alex said, looking down at her with a sympathetic frown as he reached out to cup her face and rubbed his thumb over her cheek as Jo’s glare softened.

“Is this about going up to Leavenworth with Meredith and everyone else?” Jo asked in a quiet whisper.

“Yeah,” Alex whispered back to her with a little nod. 

Jo frowned as she listened to Meredith’s reply. She wished Jo and the girls well before saying goodbye to Alex. Their friends, including Link, Amelia, Hayes, Maggie, Winston, and all their kids, were going up to Leavenworth for the day to play in the snow and visit the Christmas shops there. It would have been the first time that Luna and Helena saw the snow and Jo was so disappointed that they were missing out on it now. They would have to stay home in rainy Seattle and miss out on all the snow fun.

“Hey, it's okay,” Alex said, seeing her disappointed look. “We can go up to Leavenworth after Christmas once you guys are feeling better.”

“I was just really looking forward to it,” Jo said as tears welled up in her eyes and she was surprised at her reaction. 

“I know,” Alex said as he moved to crawl in bed next to her and pulled her into his lap as she laid her head on his chest. He gently rubbed his hand up and down her back and Jo closed her eyes again as she let herself relax and be comforted by him. 

“How are my boys doing,” Jo said, tilting her head to look up at him and she referenced him and Reeses. 

“We're doing good. While you and the girls were asleep, I took him out for a walk around the neighborhood. I also bought some chicken soup from the store if you guys are hungry later or not,” Alex said, taking in Jo's expression as just the thought of trying to eat chicken noodle soup made her nauseous again. 

“It's not fair,” Jo pouted, burying her head in his chest again. “How come the three of us are sick and you're not.”

“Well, when you're around sick kids all the time, you just naturally have a better immune system. It’s my superpower,” Alex said, and she could hear the smirk in his voice as she scoffed. 

“Or the universe has just decided that they'll keep you well enough and to take care of the three of us until we're better and then get you sick,” Jo said as she glared up at him. 

Alex just laughed, the sound vibrating through his chest and as she picked up her head, “Haha, you wish.”

Jo rolled her eyes again as she laid her head back down on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes again as, despite how she had just gotten up from a nap, she was still tired. She felt one of the girls move and looked up to see that Luna had sat up and was rubbing her little eyes. 

“Hi baby,” Jo said, reaching out to her as Luna immediately started to cry, clearly still miserable as Jo pulled her into her lap. 

“Still not feeling good, sweet girl?” Alex asked as he reached out to rub Luna's back. 

Luna just continued to cry, and it didn't take long for her to wake up Helena, who immediately started crying as well. Jo took both girls into her arms and tried to comfort them. Helena, of course, immediately pulled at her shirt, wanting to nurse and Jo didn't hesitate as she pulled it up and let Helena latch on. She suckled intermittently for a little while, barely drinking anything, but at least she was eating something as she usually cried and unlatched when Jo’s milk let down. Alex took Luna into his lap, held her and rubbed her back, although Luna clung to her side and rested her head on Jo’s shoulders. Soon enough, both girls were settled and Jo sighed as she leaned her head against Alex's shoulder. 

“Do you want me to put something on?” Alex asked, already knowing her answer as he reached for the remote.

“Yeah, why don’t you see what you can find,” Jo said as she watched him flick through various streaming services before, to her surprise, he pulled up The Muppets Christmas Carol.

“That looks nice. I've never seen a Muppets movie before,” Jo said as she watched the title screen of the movie start to play. 

“Seriously?” Alex said as he looked down at her with raised eyebrows.

“Where would I have watched it?” Jo said with a shrug of her shoulders, although she tried not to jostle Helena.

“Didn't your foster parents ever tell you to shut up and sit you in front of a TV for a few hours?” 

“No, they just told me to shut up and go play outside and not bother them.” 

“Yeah, mine did that too,” Alex just shrugged as he played the movie before looking down at Helena and Luna. “You girls got it good. Mommy only yells at Daddy to shut up.”

Luna let out a little giggle as she cuddled into them both and Jo put her arm around her. She and Alex exchanged a smile as Jo kissed Helen’s head before she turned and leaned over to kiss Luna’s head. “You two are too sweet for Mommy to yell at you, even when you're fussy.”

“Sweet girl,” Luna said, lifting her head off her shoulder with a smile. 

“Yes, you’re my sweet girl,” Jo said, hugging her close.

“What does that make me?” Alex asked with a little chuckle. 

“A grown-up who should know better,” Jo said with a little laugh as she looked up at him and raised her eyebrows at him before he just shook his head with a laugh, knowing that she was right.

The movie started and the four of them became enraptured by the screen. Even Helena turned her head out to watch as she still nursed. Eventually, Reeses came in from wherever he had been hanging out and hopped on the bed with them, coming up to lay his head and Helena's lap. She patted his head and Luna reached over to scratch his ears. Jo followed along with the story relaxing as they all watched the movie, and she thought about the play that they were missing out on. 

Jo was still disappointed that they didn't get to play in the snow and visit the shops. Yet, despite how sick they all were, she loved being in bed and curled up with Alex and the girls. She was looking forward to seeing how they would react to the white fluffy flakes and spending the day with them in the snow and looking through the special shops. She knew Helena would love the hat shop and trying on all the different ones, and that Luna would be fascinated with a nutcracker shop as she loved the one they had on the mantle. She had wanted to let the girls experience some of the Christmas magic and the snow. 

Just like Alex had wanted the big Christmas tree to make the holiday special, Jo wanted to start traditions with the girls that they could keep year after year. Then, the girls would grow up knowing all the popular Christmas stories, with memories of baking cookies with them, and playing in the snow. As she watched Luna and Helena giggle at something the characters said, she realized that this could be a family tradition too, minus the whole stomach flu, of course.

“I'm happy we get to watch this movie with the girls,” Jo whispered as she looked up at Alex, who glanced down at her with a smile. “It might not be the snowy Christmas that I wanted them to experience, but this is a good Christmas memory. Although they might not remember it, they're still going to enjoy it.” 

“It doesn't matter whether they have the perfect Hallmark Christmas,” Alex said as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “They have you and they have me, and we're trying our best to make Christmas special for them, and it is special. I mean, look at them, Jo, they're happy. That's all that matters.”

Jo looked down at her girls. Luna was smiling, holding her fuzzy little blanket against her cheek as she rested against Alex. Helena was watching the movie and clutched Jo’s shirt as she had finished nursing. Both of them were happy, and they were enjoying the movie and laughing as the characters danced and sang. Jo wrapped her arms around Lena and Luna, giving them a little squeeze and kissing both of their heads before she looked up at Alex.

“Thank you for that,” Jo reached up and pulled his chin down as she kissed his cheek.

“Of course,” Alex just smiled as he leaned down and kissed her lips.

“Aren't you afraid of getting sick,” Jo said with a smile when he pulled back. 

“Yeah, but kissing you is worth it,” Alex said, smiling down at her with eyes full of love and your smile, and she realized she was happy too. 

……………………………………………………………………

Jo was attempting the most dangerous thing a parent could do, transfer her sleeping baby from her arms into their crib. She had just gotten Helena to sleep and had enjoyed a few sweet moments with her baby girl before she got up from the rocking chair and moved over to the crib. She bent over and laid Helena down then carefully, one movement at a time pulled out one arm and then the other from under her. As she finally laid her daughter down, Jo paused above her crib, watching Helena close to be sure that she would stay asleep. Helena kept on sleeping, her little chest rising and falling, and Jo let out a sigh of relief as she tiptoed away from the crib. 

She turned around to check on Luna, who Alex had put to bed earlier. They originally had the girls in separate rooms, but they either slept through the other ones crying or woke up regardless. Jo and Alex figured it would be easier to have them in the same room, and it had worked out so far. They put the two cribs across from each other, with the rocking chair and dresser in between them, and their book and toy shelf along the other wall next to the door. They had combined the two nursery themes they had for the girls. They had planned out a space themed nursery for Luna and a floral themed nursery for Helena. They put the stars poster above Luna's gray crib and the green floral poster above Helena's crib. They kept the rest of the nursery plain, as their toys and books mostly took over the room.

Jo peeked at Luna in her crib only to find her awake and staring up at her rocket ship mobile. Jo sighed as she leaned over and put a hand on Luna's chest, reaching out to rub her finger across Luna’s cheek.

“Luna, you gotta go to sleep. Otherwise Santa's not going to come,” Jo whispered as she put her arm over the edge of her crib and laid her head on her arm.

“San-a,” Luna whispered up at her, smiling around her pacifier, and Jo couldn't help but smile as she reached down and picked Luna up again. 

Jo cradled her in her arms as she walked back over to the rocking chair. She sat with Luna in her lap and stared down at her as she started to rock back and forth again. Jo started to hum and softly sing Jingle Bells as she ran her fingers over Luna's forehead. Luna’s eyelids fluttered, but she stubbornly kept them open. She rubbed her eyes with her little fist and let out a yawn that was contagious as Jo yawned too.

“See, Mommy's tired too,” Jo said as she decided to try the little trick that Alex sometimes used as she closed her eyes. “Okay, Luna, you stay up, but Mommy's going to go to sleep, though.”

She continued to rock the chair back and forth, keeping quiet and keeping her eyes closed as she listened to the sound of the girl's sound machine fan. She had fallen asleep so many nights in this rocking chair that it was a struggle not to actually fall asleep, but she focused on Luna. She could feel Luna wave her arms around until finally, she felt her rest. Jo didn't dare peek at her, knowing that Luna was watching her intently to see if she had really fallen asleep. It was one of those tricks that Jo and Alex used now that the girls were older when one of them refused to fall asleep. Alex said it was because they were more likely to fall asleep when they knew they weren’t missing out on something, but it worked. After a few minutes, she peeked at Luna to see that she was fast asleep. 

Jo took a second just to hold Luna for a little longer because although the days were long, the years were short, and it was Christmas Eve. She wouldn't be able to rock her babies to sleep forever. She quietly listened to Luna sleep, the gentle sound of her breathing in and out. Sometimes it was so wonderful just to watch her little girl. She was so big now, more of a toddler with the long blond hair that brushed around her ears. She walked, and talked, and sometimes Jo didn't recognize her as the preemie baby that she watched over in the NICU. Her little 26 week old baby, who couldn't even breathe on her own, was now taking in deep full breaths as she slept.

Jo bent down and pressed her lips to Luna’s forehead before she got up and went over to her crib. Just like with Helena, she carefully bent over into the crib, set her down, and untangled her fist that clutched Jo’s sheep shirt. She had continued with their three year tradition of having matching family pajamas. This year was red and white striped long sleeves and pants PJs with green cuffs. Jo had picked them out because they reminded her of the pajamas she used to see when she was a kid, looking through the Gap magazine at the picture-perfect families. Her family was far from perfect, but she loved them. 

She let Luna's hand curl around her fingers before she slipped from her grasp and carefully stepped away from the crib. She glanced over at Helena, relieved to see that she was still asleep before she quietly tip toed out of the nursery and quietly shut the door. She paused behind it to hear if they were still asleep and let out a sigh of relief when they remained quiet. 

Jo grabbed her slippers from the top of the stairs where she had kicked them off, knowing they would make too much noise as she tried to slip out of the nursery and put them back on as she went back downstairs. Their first Christmas Eve dinner as a family went surprisingly better than Thanksgiving did as they opted for mostly store bought foods and pre-made ham. All of the lights were off downstairs and the fire they had started that evening was growing dim in the fireplace. Reeses greeted her at the foot of the steps after she stepped over the baby gate, wiggling his whole body as she reached down to rub his head.

“I hope you left some of those Santa cookies for me,” Jo said as she walked over to Alex, who was sitting on the rug and munching on one of the store bought cookies she and the girls had left out for ‘Santa.’ 

“Of course, Mrs. Claus,” Alex said with a smirk as he offered the plate to her before looking back down at the dollhouse pieces that were out in front of him.

“How's it going?” Jo asked as she sat down on the couch and munched on one of the cookies

Jo was impressed that he was putting together the dollhouse instead of wrapping it like he said he would. It was the one big gift they had gotten for them. The simple wooden dollhouse had white shiplap siding, a black roof, and a green door. It wasn't like the Barbie houses that they had looked at, which had sticker wallpaper. Instead, this one just had white walls and wooden floors. It was simple but timeless, and they both agreed that the girls would love it. It was the kind of dollhouse that Jo had always wanted as a kid and she loved that they could get it for her daughters.

“It's going great,” Alex said through gritted teeth as he stared at the instructions before glancing at the parts he had set out in front of him. He had most of the first floor put together save for the left wall, but it didn't look like it fit right.

“Do you want some help?” Jo asked, looking at him and walking over to where he had everything laid out.

“No,” Alex said, holding out his arm, preventing her from coming any closer. “I can put together this damn dollhouse by myself.”

“Okay,” Jo said with a little smile as she held up her hand and backed off. 

She looked over at the pile of other presents that they hadn’t wrapped yet, and went over to start wrapping them. They had picked out a specific wrapping paper for each person, figuring it would make it easier in the morning for them to identify their own presents. When they started wrapping presents, they let each girl pick out which tube of wrapping paper that they wanted. Helena had picked out a white wrapping paper with little brown reindeer, while Luna had picked out a dark blue one with white stars. Alex had picked out white paper with green Christmas trees and Jo’s was red with little Santas on it. 

She had already finished wrapping her gifts for Alex, including the one that she had picked out with the girls while they were shopping the other day that was from them to him. Although her special gift to him wasn't here yet, she still had a little gift for him. She snuck into their office, where she had hidden it in the locked drawer of her desk and tied a ribbon around the box before she came back out and snuck it under the three. Thankfully, Alex was so focused on the dollhouse that he didn’t even notice. She finished wrapping the rest of the girls' presents, including a few ones for Reeses as well. Jo made sure that each present had a little bow before she placed it under the tree. Then she looked over at Alex to see he had completed half of the wooden dollhouse. 

“It looks like you've got half of it done,” Jo said as she laid down on the couch, curling up with one of the throw blankets. 

“Yeah, I think I got the hang of it,” Alex said as he looked over at the directions before carefully placing the second floor and making sure it aligned with all of the walls and everything.

“Why did you want to build it tonight?” Jo asked as she stared at him. “I thought we agreed to just build it after they opened it?”

“I know, but I wanted to see the look on their faces when they come downstairs tomorrow morning and see all the presents that they got. I want them to see the dollhouse and be able to play with it right away,” Alex said as he carefully screwed in the second floor as he continued to build a dollhouse and talk to her. 

“We know how it is to grow up poor. I barely remember getting any Christmas gifts before my mom’s schizophrenia got really bad and my dad started drinking more. Even then, it was just one or two gifts, and after that, I was lucky to get anything. But one year after my dad left, I tried really hard to make Christmas special for Amber and Aaron. I worked this crappy after school job at a fast food place. I barely had any shifts because I was trying to take care of my mom and the kids, but I was able to save enough money to have a decent Christmas for them. That Christmas eve, I took us all out to dinner and it was the first real meal we had eaten in months. I was even able to buy a little slice of cake that we all split for dessert. Then that night, I put Amber and Aaron to bed and wrapped the gifts that I had gotten for them. It wasn't much, but I was able to buy them each one thing. I got Amber this little Care Bear and I got Aaron a Transformer. Then, I got them up on Christmas morning and told them to go downstairs and see what Santa got them and just their smiles when they opened the gifts. Aaron played with that Transformer all the time and Amber still has the Care Bear I got her. But the looks on their faces when they opened their gifts and how happy they were, I'll always remember that. I want that excitement for our girls. I want them to come downstairs on Christmas morning and see the dollhouse and all the gifts that they got. I want to do that for them.” 

Jo couldn’t help the tears that welled up in her eyes as she listened to Alex talk about his childhood and how hard he worked to make Christmas special for his siblings. Now how he was working to make Christmas special for their girls. With the man she loved and their two daughters, she had the family she always wanted and the Christmas she always wanted too. She had the big tree in the window with lots of lights and ornaments, with thousands of presents under the tree filled with toys that her kids would get to play with, and she could play with them two. She had Christmas cookies for Santa, even if they were just store bought. They had watched Christmas movies, and now the girls knew the traditional Christmas stories. She had a husband who worked just as hard as she did to make Christmas special for all of them. It was far from perfect, but it was everything she had always wanted.

“Are you okay?” Alex said his look changed to one of concern as he turned around and saw her tears. 

“Yeah, I'm okay,” Jo said as she smiled at him and he crawled over and put a hand against your cheek. “They're happy tears.”

Alex’s eyes softened as he took in her smile, but he stayed with her as she reached out and put her hand on his cheek as well before he leaned in to give her a soft kiss. Jo closed her eyes, still crying tears of happiness as she held his cheek. He pulled back just enough to move and kiss her cheeks and when she opened her eyes, he was just a few inches away from her, still watching over her. 

“I wanted to make Christmas special for the girls too. It's healing in a way to give them everything that I didn't have,” Jo said as she let her fingers curl around the little ringlet curls in his hair, little brown ringlets that Helena had too. “I was talking about it with my therapist Michelle the other day. She said that, in ensuring that my daughters have a good Christmas, it was also healing my inner child who never got a good Christmas.”

“I get that,” Alex said with a little smile as he looked at her. “Doing all this heals some of the hurt because we didn't have it then, but we have it now, and we can give it to our kids so they'll never have to know what it's like to go without.”

 “Yeah,” Jo agreed, tearing up again as Alex wiped away the salty drops that fell on her cheeks. 

“You know, growing up, I never really got Christmas unless the social workers or other charities came by with Christmas gifts, and usually, the gifts were always taken away and given to the other kids. Then the year that I lived in my car, I didn't know what to do, so I thought I'd have a little Christmas for myself. I had this little pine cone that I decorated with glitter and ribbon and I was going to try and save up and get an album from my favorite artist, but I couldn't because I had to spend the money on gas to keep the car warm because it was so cold that winter. Well, Ms. Schmitt caught me when I parked my car behind the gym the day school let out for winter break. She invited me over to her house to stay for Christmas, she’s Jewish, but her mother wasn’t so they always celebrated both. I declined, but she insisted. She said it was her first Christmas alone since her son left for college and so I agreed if only to keep her company. At first, it was awkward, but then it was just nice. She wasn't like my other foster parents. She didn't try too hard and she didn't ignore me. She was there and she cared, but she let me have my space. Then Christmas morning, to my surprise, she had brought me several presents. She knit me a sweater and got me a few books and the album I wanted. That night we had a real Christmas dinner, but it was all so overwhelming. I was scared that it was going to be taken away in the morning, so I left that night after she went to bed. That's why I wasn't sure about getting the big Christmas tree because Ms. Schmitt had this big eight-foot tall Christmas tree. It was so magical, and I thought when we brought it home that it would be too overwhelming, but it wasn't, and I love our big tree.” 

Alex just nodded at her and he moved to hold her as she sat up. He sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her into his lap. Jo started over at their tree that glittered with the lights and sparkly ornaments. She rested her head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat under her ear as he held her and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. 

“What did Ms. Schmitt say when she saw you at school again?” Alex whispered as he prompted her to continue.

“That's the thing… she didn't say anything,” Jo said with a shrug as she stared at the tree lights and continued her story. “I was so embarrassed that I thought about moving to another town, but I felt like I owed Ms. Schmitt thank you. So the first day of school in the new year, I went to her class, and before I could even say anything, she wrapped me in a hug and said ‘thank you for staying with me for Christmas.’ and so I just told her ‘you're welcome.’ Then I went to class and she continued teaching, and that was it. She invited me to stay again over spring break and that summer, but I declined, and she didn't push it. That was the first real Christmas that I had.”

Alex didn't say anything, instead just leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. It was the same soft kiss as before, but this time he lingered against her lips. “As long as I'm alive, you will always have a real Christmas.”

“Thank you,” Jo whispered with a little nod as she put a hand on his cheek and pulled him down for another kiss. They kissed again for a little longer, until Jo finally sat up and looked over at the unfinished dollhouse. “Alright, Dr. Karev, go finish the dollhouse for our girls.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Alex said as he got up, putting a blanket over her as she laid back down. 

Reeses hopped up on the couch next to her, crawling up and nudging her stomach before he settled. Jo smiled and rubbed her hand over his ears as she watched the lights on the tree glitter again. 

It didn't take long for Alex to finish the dollhouse, although there were way too many tiny little screws that seemed to take forever. Finally, he tested out the dollhouse by giving it a little wiggle knowing that the girls would pull on it more and was satisfied that it was stable enough. He pushed the dollhouse so it was right up by the tree and turned it around so that it was facing out. Alex smiled as he stood up and looked at it. It was the first thing they would see when they looked at the tree and he smiled, thinking about how happy they would be. 

“What do you think Jo?” Alex asked in a light whisper as he glanced back at her. 

However, Jo didn't respond, and her eyes were shut as she slept peacefully on the couch. Alex just shook his head as he walked over to her. He bent down in front of the couch and brushed his fingers across her forehead. Sometimes he just stared at her, thinking about how lucky he was to have her. 

Everything he had was because of her. Lord knows if he never met her, he would probably still be a bachelor sleeping around, with only a mattress on the floor and paper cutlery. He furnished the house because of her, so she would come over and drink with him. When he fell in love with her, she made him realize that he could be a good man, and even though he stumbled along the way, she came back to him. She loved him despite his faults. She married him when he had long since given up the idea that she would and she helped him build their family. She was the one who carried Helena and brought her into the world, and she was the one who fell in love with Luna and wanted to adopt her. She was also the one who fell in love with this home and insisted that it was theirs. Everything around him, he had because of her and he loved her so much it made his heart dance in his chest and a smile appear on his lips. 

“Come on, Reeses,” Alex said as the chocolate lab reluctantly gave up his spot next to Jo and hopped off the couch.

He bent down and gently put one arm under her back as he moved her head to lay on his shoulder before he moved his other arm under her legs and picked her up. His back ached a little bit as he stood up. He wasn't as young as he used to be, neither of them were, but Alex would be damned if he woke up his sleeping wife when he could just carry her to bed. Jo deserved to rest because despite still getting over the flu, she worked all week. She ran around and got all the toys for the girls and wrapped everyone's presents because he was absolutely terrible at it. The gifts he wrapped for her were just barely covered with paper and tape. She had worked so hard to make sure everything was ready for Christmas and she deserved to rest now that it was all done.

He carefully made his way upstairs, doing his best to step over the baby gate and not drop Jo or fall down the stairs. He successfully made it to their room and pulled back the blanket before he laid her down and tucked her in. Then, he went over and put Reeses away in his kennel in the corner of their room. Even there, he could hear anything that went awry in the house. Then he returned to bed and crawled in next to Jo, wrapping his arm around her waist. 

“I can't wait to surprise you with your gift on Christmas morning,” Alex said with a smile as he pressed one last kiss to her cheek before he too fell asleep.

……………………………………………………………………

Jo wasn't sure who would wake up first on Christmas morning, but she had a feeling it would either be Alex or Helena as both of them are early birds. Despite the fact that Alex had been up the latest, she knew he was just too excited to sleep in. Sure enough, Helena woke up just after 5:00 a.m., but neither she nor Alex were ready to get up. So they did rock paper scissors to see who would put her back to sleep. Jo ultimately lost and waltzed into the nursery half awake. Luckily, Helena fell back asleep after nursing and some rocking chair cuddles, but Jo knew it was only for a few more hours. 

Jo crawled back in bed and snuggled up next to Alex, falling asleep rather quickly, but before she knew it, his lips were on her cheek, softly waking her up. His lips brushed over to kiss her nose before she smiled and heard him chuckle, although she kept her eyes shut as he leaned in and kissed her lips. 

“Merry Christmas,” Alex said after he pulled back and she could hear the excitement in his voice as his lips spread into a wide happy smile. 

“Merry Christmas, ” Jo whispered, matching his smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down to kiss her.

Alex hummed against her lips before he pulled back. “Should we try for a Christmas baby?”

“We could,” Jo said with a smirk as he ran his hands under her shirt, but before he got where she wanted him, she heard one of the girls’ cries come from the baby monitor. 

Alex sighed as he laid his head on her chest and Jo groaned as she pushed his head away from her sensitive breasts. He turned his head and grabbed the monitor, turning it on as they looked to see who was awake. It was Luna and she was standing up in her crib, looking over at the camera. 

“Mama,” Luna said as she pouted before she continued to cry. 

“She wants you,” Alex said, holding himself up on his elbows. 

“I got up with Helena, it’s your turn,” Jo said, setting him with a look. Alex sighed as he sat up, but Jo smiled and got up with him as she put one arm around his waist. “Come on, let's get our girls up for Christmas morning.” 

Alex smiled and got up as he practically ran over to the nursery as she followed him. He opened the door, and Luna turned to them and held up her arms for them to pick her up. Jo leaned down and got her while Alex went over to wake up Helena.

“Hey baby,” Jo said as she held Luna close as she laid her head on her shoulder. 

She looked over to see Helena blinking and rubbing her eyes as she woke up in Alex’s arms. Alex smiled as he whispered to Helena and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Helena reached up and touched his face, scratching at his five o’clock shadow and making Alex chuckle as she giggled. Jo rubbed Luna’s back and unconsciously swayed back and forth as Luna calmed down. They got the girls out of their sleep sacks and into fresh diapers, as they had a few quiet morning cuddles with them while they woke up.

“Are you two ready to go see what Santa got you?” Alex whispered, his voice full of excitement as he was over at Helena and then Luna.

“San-na,” Luna said, picking up her head as she looked over at Alex.

“Yeah, baby girl, Santa,” Jo said, letting her lips form into an excited smile as she watched Luna’s eyes light up.

She looked over at Alex as he raised his eyebrows in excitement before the two of them walked out of the room. They got Reeses out of the kennel, and he excitedly bounded around their feet like he always did in the mornings. Jo crouched down to pet him, and Helena rubbed his ears before they all went downstairs.

Jo loved that the staircase opened up for a wonderful view of the kitchen and the living room. As they walked down the stairs, Jo looked over the tree. They left the lights on all night and now they sparkled in the early morning light. The sight before her was one that she had always dreamed of. A big Christmas tree filled with ornaments and lights surrounded by dozens of presents. Reeses ran down and over to the tree and Alex continued to walk ahead of her as she stopped on the stairs and looked at it all. It took her breath away for a second, and she could feel Luna get excited as she lifted her head up from her shoulder and pointed over at the tree. 

“Merry Christmas Luna,” Jo said with a smile, trying not to get choked up as she looked over at her little girl, taking in her wide eyes and shocked expression as she leaned in and kissed her cheek. 

She looked over at Alex and Helena, who had also stopped in the stairs. Helena had that over-exaggerated shocked expression that Alex had jokingly taught her but was now too cute for Jo to care. Her hands were on her cheeks and her jaw dropped as her mouth formed a large O. Alex just beamed, he smiled so big and wide as he looked over at them, taking in their excitement and reveling in it. 

“Should we go open some presents?” Alex asked, trying to contain the excitement in his voice, although he sounded like a kid at Christmas himself.

“I think we should, right Luna?” Jo asked as Luna nodded and they continued down the stairs. 

They walked over to the trees to see that Reeses had already gotten into one of his presents and was chewing on the large bone they had placed under the tree. As Jo went over to the tree, she sat Luna down as her toddler walked over to the dollhouse. Alex stood next to her as he set Helena down and she followed in her sister's footsteps over to the dollhouse. They both just stared at the dollhouse and Helena reached out to grab some of the furniture as she sat down and started to play. She felt Alex wrap his arms around her waist and lay his head on her shoulder as they watched their girls. 

“Jo,” Alex whispered as he turned to look at her and reached up to brush away the silent tears that fell from her cheeks, but Jo just smiled because they were happy tears. She was so overwhelmingly happy. 

She grabbed Alex's hand around her waist and pulled him forward as they both sat down in front of the tree. Then, she reached out to grab one of the presents for Luna and looked up at her. 

“Luna come here, look, this one's for you,” Jo said as she called her forward and held out the gift to her. Luna came over and reached for the gift as she held it in her little hands. “Do you see the wrapping paper? All of the ones that have this wrapping paper for you, baby girl.”

“Do you want to open it, kiddo?” Alex asked as he smiled, reaching out to tug at the fold of the present with his fingers as they pulled at the wrapping paper.

Helena came over to see it as well, and Jo reached out to pull her to sit in her lap and grabbed a present for her. Jo looked up when she heard Luna let out a little sound of awe as she unwrapped the presents to reveal the NASA backpack. She smiled and started stomping her feet in excitement, just like she did in the store when she first saw it. Jo immediately pulled out her phone to capture the sight before her as Alex turned to look at her with a smile. Helena quickly caught on and tore open the present in her lap, letting out a squeal of excitement as she looked at her gift of more wooden doll people and furniture. Jo turned the camera around and snapped a picture of Helena before she got up and went over to the dollhouse. Alex saw her trying to get out the people and reached for it as he helped her get them out of the box. 

It didn't take long for the wrapping paper to start flying as the kids tore into the gifts. Most of them were their own, but they also occasionally opened one of Alex and Jo’s. Alex got up and made them both a cup of coffee, got milk for the girls, and put Reeses outside before he put the cinnamon rolls in the oven. Jo relaxed as she sat against the couch, admiring that bracelet that Alex got her as he tied it on her wrist. Luna and Helena looked under the tree with their little butts up in the air as they searched for the last of the presents. 

They pulled out two identical boxes that Jo had wrapped, but Alex’s eyebrows knit together as he looked over at her. “I don't remember those?” 

Jo just smiled as she took a sip of her coffee, watching the girls tear into the boxes. Luna quickly got all of the paper off as she looked down at her present before holding it up for them to see the little blonde baby doll that Jo had gotten her. Helena held up an identical one except with brown hair instead of blond and babbled as she came over to Alex and deposited it into his lap, silently asking him to open it as he went to work on the package. 

“These are great, but why did you get them?” Alex asked as he opened the box and started to work on all of the things that had trapped the baby in the box.

“I just thought it would be good practice for when we have another baby,” Jo said with a smile, watching him as he smirked, glancing over at her before he freed the doll and gave it to Helena. 

He crawled over to her and Jo put her coffee down on the end table as he wrapped one arm around her and pulled her in. “You know, as soon as we put the girls down for a nap. I could try and give you a Christmas present of a real baby.” 

Jo couldn't help but burst out laughing at the implication of what he was offering her, but she still wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Alex smiled against her lips as he kissed her and Jo soon pulled back. There was one more present she had to give him. So, she untangled herself from his arms and reached over to the tree. She grabbed the little box that she had placed in the tree, rather than underneath it, knowing that it would get lost under all the other presents. Then she sat back against the couch and handed it to Alex. 

“What’s this?” Alex asked, holding it up to his ear as he shook it, hearing something bounce around inside the box as he did

“Why don't you open it and find out?” Jo said with a smirk as she smiled, watching him pull at the red ribbon tied around it. 

She watched him closely as he pulled off the lid of the box. The second he saw what was inside, his smile was replaced with a look of surprise as his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. He reached into the box and pulled out the little pink positive pregnancy test and the black and white ultrasound photo as he stared at them.

Alex looked up at her for a second, blinking as he just stared at her. “Is this real?” Are you, are you pregnant?”

“Yes!” Jo nodded as she beamed at him, smiling so wide that her cheeks hurt. “I was talking to Carina about how the girls had gotten over the flu, but it was still fighting it, and she just took one look at me and told me to take a pregnancy test. I thought she was crazy, but I took one anyway, and it was positive. Yet, I still didn’t believe it.”

“Of course, you didn’t,” Alex said with a smile as he shook his head. Jo still smiled, but she did roll her eyes. 

“Anyway, I had Carina do a blood test and ultrasound to be sure and there was our baby,” Jo said with a smile as she put a hand over their baby. “And before you ask, it's just the one baby!”

Alex just chuckled as he looked down at the ultrasound photo. It was just a little blob, but it was their baby and she could tell that he was mesmerized. He looked at the scan, glancing at the info under her name as he saw the gestation date. “Five weeks, wait, when did you get this scan?”

Jo just smirked as she bit her lip. “A little less than a week ago, so I’m….”

“Six weeks along,” Alex said as his lips parted again. “Wait, that means….”

“I got pregnant the week of Helena’s birthday when we started trying,” Jo said with a laugh. 

“I knocked you up on the first try!” Alex exclaimed as he reached forward and wrapped his arms around her.

“We don't know that for sure!” Jo insisted, although she still smiled. 

“Yes, we do,” Alex said with a smirk as he pulled her in for a kiss. 

She melted into him as he held her close and she felt one of his hands move down to hold her belly. He pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers, a light and a happy smile across his cheeks. “We're going to have another baby.”

“We are,” Jo said with a smile as she put his hand over his hand on their baby.

Alex leaned in to kiss her again as they met with excited smiles across their lips. He wrapped one arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. When she pulled back, they just smiled at each other, so excited to have a new baby. Alex grabbed her hips and pulled her to sit in his lap as she leaned against him. They took a moment to watch the girls play with the wrapping paper and their new toys. Reeses continued to chew on his bone, the only thing he cared about that Christmas morning, as Alex kissed Jo on her forehead while she relaxed and leaned her head against him. 

When Jo first thought about having kids, she thought maybe she could handle one or two, but now that she was pregnant with their third, she couldn't be happier about welcoming this new child into their home. Jo loved Helena and Luna, and she loved being their mom. She loved playing with them and taking care of them. She wouldn't say it was easy, but it was her life and she loved it. Alex had always wanted a big family. If it were up to him, they would have a dozen kids. When they talked about having a third child, Jo didn’t object as Alex expected her to. They technically already had three, with their fur baby Reeses, and she always imagined having another baby. Now, she couldn't wait for them to join their family. 

“How has your nausea been this time around? Has Carina put you on medication again?” Alex whispered before pressing a kiss to the side of her forehead.

“No, actually, it hasn't been that bad this time around. Apart from the flu, I've been able to keep down food most of the day,” Jo said as she looked up at him, watching as he gently smiled. 

She had been so nauseous last time around with Helena that she could barely keep anything down. She was worried that this time around, she would need it again but was pleasantly surprised to find out that her morning sickness was much lighter. Usually, she was just nauseous and she only ended up vomiting once a day or so, now that she was over the flu. 

“And you've been taking your prenatals and staying away from deli meat and the unpasteurized cheese?” 

“Yes, yes. I promise I've been taking care of myself.” 

“Good,” Alex said, leaning down to peck her lips. “And from now on, you tell me when you're sick, or when things are getting to be too much, or if you get too tired.”

“I will,” Jo said as she glanced up at him, a little bit annoyed, but she knew it was just from a place of concern.

“Okay,” Alex said, glancing down at her. “Because it's not like how it was when you were pregnant with Helena. We have two toddlers and you're a resident again. I want you to take it easy and I want you to know that I'm here to take over if you need to rest. Besides, I'd rather not have you faint in OR again.”

“I'm not going to faint in the OR again,” Jo said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

“I mean it Jo, for the sake of our baby. Please take it easy,” Alex said, gently rubbing her belly with his hand.

Jo looked up at him to see the concern and his eyes and she softened as she nodded. “Okay, I promise.”

Alex smiled as the concern dissipated and he leaned down to kiss her again, the spark of excitement lighting up in his eyes. Jo loved that he was so concerned for her and that he went out of his way to take care of her. Since she had switched to OB, she had seen so many fathers fail to take care of their partners and willfully ignore their needs while forcing them to do all the childcare. It made her realize how lucky she was to be with Alex and have a true partner, in parenting and in life. She could feel the tears well up in her eyes when she looked up at him and Alex’s look of concern came back as he reached up to brush the tears that fell from her cheek before she buried her face in his chest.

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, wrapping his arms around her as he gently swayed back and forth, trying to soothe her.

“I just love you,” Jo said as she pouted and buried her face in his neck as she clung to him.

She let the tears fall as they turned into silent sobs and he just held her. She knew that if she was as sick as she had been when she was pregnant with Helena, that Alex would absolutely step up. He would let her lay around on the couch all day while he chased after their toddlers, made dinner, and kept the house clean because he had done it the last time around. 

“Are these hormonal tears?” Alex asked as he gently started to rub up and down her back.

“Yes!” Jo said with a sob.

Alex chuckled, but she didn't mind as he just rubbed her back as she cried. Luckily, neither of the girls noticed her tears as they were too busy with their toys. When she felt ready, she pulled back and then she heard Alex pause as his phone dinged. 

“Jo, do you want to go see who's at the door?” 

“What?” Jo asked as she looked up at him only to see him smiling.

Reeses started to bark just before the doorbell rang and both of the girls looked over towards the doorway. Alex reached over and grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes before he helped her up and led her over to the door. Helena and Luna followed them as Alex reached down to pick them both up. They left Reeses behind the baby gate as they stepped over it to go into the entryway that led past the office to the front door. Jo just looked at him, confused as she wiped her eyes and went to answer the door. She had no idea who could be there as he wouldn't have gotten this excited if it was just one of their friends. And she knew for sure that it wasn't his mom or Amber and her family as they hadn’t texted her yet.

Still, she walked over to the door, seeing a small figure standing on the other side of the frosted glass. Before she pulled it open, she looked back at Alex, who was holding the girls in his arms. He just smiled and he nodded at her to open the door. Jo finally pulled open the door and the sight before her brought tears back to her eyes. 

“Hello Jo,” Ms. Elena Schmitt stood before her on the doorstep. The short, German woman’s green eyes sparkled and her gray hair was tucked up in the same bun she had worn when Jo was her student. She also held a bag at her side as she smiled widely at her. 

“Ms. Schmitt,” Jo said as her tears started falling again, she was so overwhelmed to see her favorite teacher and her only parental figure here, before her.

She put a hand over her mouth before Ms. Schmitt pulled her forward into a hug. Jo had kept in touch with Ms. Schmitt throughout her college years, but after she left Paul, she had been forced to cut contact with her in fear that Paul would find her through Ms. Schmitt. After Paul died, Jo had nervously called her again, unsure of how willing Ms. Schmitt would be to talk to her again, only to be surprised when she was met with excitement from her old mentor. Since then, the two had talked regularly, and Jo and Alex had even visited her before, although she had yet to meet Luna or her namesake, Helena. 

“It's so good to see you, dear,” Elena said as she pulled back. “Now, introduce me to your babies.”

Jo was so overwhelmed by everything that she could barely speak. All she could do was nod. She looked back at Alex, who just beamed at her. Luna took everything in with wide eyes, but Helena saw her distress. She started to fuss and reached out to Jo, who took her and held her close as she tried to take a deep breath and remember how to talk. 

“This is your namesake Helena,” Jo said, looking down at her daughter as Helena stopped fussing. She looked up at Jo and rested her head on her chest before Jo kissed her head. Then she looked over at Luna and Alex. “And this is her big sister, Luna.” 

“Hello Helena,” Elena said as she leaned forward to wave at Helena before she looked over at Alex and Luna and waved at them as well. “Hello Alex, it's good to see you again and it's nice to meet you too Luna.”

“It's good to see you as well,” Alex said as he reached out and shook her hand before taking her bag. 

“What are you doing here?” Jo asked, still surprised as they all went inside. 

“Well, I spent Hanukkah with my son and so now he’s spending Christmas with his wife and her family. Then Alex called me and asked if I wanted to spend Christmas with the four of you? Since I hadn’t yet met your daughters, I agreed, although I wasn’t too keen on flying on Christmas Day, but the flights were so cheap, not that this one let me pay for it myself,” Elena said as she glanced over at Alex with an affectionate smile.

Jo just shook her head, still surprised as they walked into the living room. Elena said hello to Reeses before they all sat down on the couch. Alex put Luna down and Helena wiggled out of her arms as she hesitantly crawled over to this new person sitting in their living room. 

“Hello, little one,” Elena smiled down at her as she started to engage with the girls. 

“Merry Christmas,” Alex said, wrapping his arms around her waist as he kissed her cheek and put a hand over her belly. “Although, nothing I got you compares to this, thank you.” 

“No, it does. Thank you,” Jo said as she reached up to place a hand on his cheek, giving him a quick kiss before she looked back at Ms. Schmitt. “So, how long are you staying?”

“Well, I figured I'd stay a couple of days. I know you two will be working a little bit, but I thought I could see you when you're off and get to know your girls in the meantime,” Elena said as she smiled up at them. Helena had crawled up into her lap and lavished in her attention as Luna walked up to her with her new baby doll and tried to play with her. 

“Actually, we have the week off,” Jo said with a large smile looking over at Alex.

“We do?” Alex asked, looking over at her with raised eyebrows.

Jo didn’t explain, she just smiled as she thought about all the time she could have with Elena. “So, are you staying at a hotel nearby then?”

“No, I thought she could just stay up in the guest bedroom,” Alex said with a shrug.

“That's great,” Jo said as she smiled over at Elena before she turned back and whispered to him. “Alex, I already promised the guest bedroom to someone else!”

“What, who?” Alex whispered, staring at her in confusion before Reeses barked and the doorbell rang again, then Jo smiled. “Jo, who have you invited over?”

Jo just smiled as she untangled herself from him and got up. “Elena, will you excuse us for a moment as we greet our other guests?” 

“Of course, dear,” Elena said with an understanding smile.

Jo went over to the baby gate and scooped up Luna, who had also raced over to see who had arrived. Alex continued to just stare at her with his eyebrows raised, but he came over and reached down to pick up Helena, who had walked over as well. The four of them went to answer the door, leaving Ms. Schmitt with Reeses, who had already fallen in love with her as he sat next to her on the couch and demanded pets. 

Jo smiled as she saw Amber and Matthew's son. Ethan’s mop of brown curls as he cupped his dark hands and peeked in through the frosted window of the door. Alex smiled as he saw him too and pulled open the door. There was Ethan, Amber, her husband Matthew, and of course Alex’s mom, Helen. They all waited with a bag of Christmas presents and Helen’s suitcase as Jo had intended for her to stay with them for the week. There was no mistaking them as family as Amber looked like her brother but with rounder cheeks. Matthew was a tall black man with soft eyes and a round frame. Their son Ethan took after both of them with Matthew’s lengthy build and Amber’s round cheeks.

“Merry Christmas,” they all said as they greeted Alex, who just stared at them, a shocked expression across his face before he looked back at Jo. 

“Mom, Amber,” Alex said in disbelief as she reached out to hug both of them while Helena and Luna excitedly squealed at the sight of their family. 

“Nana,” Helena said as she wrapped her arms around Helen's neck and refused to let go as Alex pulled back, so Helen took her granddaughter into her arms. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Alex asked, still shocked as he smiled at them.

“We're visiting you for Christmas dummy,” Amber said lightly, punching his arm before she brushed past him to come into the house and greeted Jo with a hug. “How's my favorite sister-in-law?”

“Amber, I'm your only sister-in-law,” Jo said with a smile as she hugged her back.

“Yes, but still my favorite,” Amber said with a smile as she pulled back, smiling at Luna as she tickled her tummy and as Luna laughed. 

“Hi an-tee,” Luna waved to Amber, who beamed at her niece before going inside. 

“Hello dear, thank you so much for having me,” Helen said as she hugged her.

“Of course, Helen. It’s always such a pleasure to have you,” Jo said as she hugged her mother-in-law.

“Can we open presents now?!” Ethan asked as the four-year-old hugged Alex before going over to Matt, who came in with the bags of presents after greeting Alex. 

“Let's just get settled for a minute, buddy,” Matt said as he greeted Jo with a hug before they all walked out into the living room. 

Elena looked up in surprise as they all came in and Jo walked over to introduce them all. “Elena, this is my sister-in-law Amber, her husband Matt, their son Ethan, and this is my mother-in-law, Helen. Everybody, this is my former teacher Ms. Schmitt, um Elena. I guess Alex and I kind of had the same idea for Christmas surprises this year.” 

“Oh well, the more the merrier. It’s nice to meet all of you,” Elena said with a smile as she politely greeted all of them.

“Elena, it's so nice to meet you,” Helen said as she came over to sit next to her and the two of them struck up a conversation. 

Matt, Amber, and Ethan all sat down and started getting out the presents as Jo instructed Alex to get out their gifts from the closet where she had hit them. As soon as they were all passed out, Ethan and the girls started to open gifts, and Alex took the chance to wrap his arms around her. He sneaked a hand over her belly, although Jo grabbed his hand and held it so as not to arouse suspicion from everybody else. 

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome, and thank you for bringing Miss Schmitt visit.” 

“You're welcome,” Alex said as he smiled, and she tilted her head back to kiss him before their families demanded their attention again. 

……………………………………………………………………

Alex howled with laughter and Meredith hung off his shoulder, gripping the gray sweater he wore. She laughed so hard that she had to hug her sides. Their Christmas potluck party was in full swing and luckily, everybody had been able to make it. The kitchen was full of food, as everybody ate and enjoyed the drinks. Although Jo had been a little weary to host the Christmas party this year, it had gone over well, especially as the potluck meant they only had to cook one dish, which Elena and his mom had helped them with. 

As he looked around the room, he saw Amber and Matt talking with Amelia and Link. Helen and Elena had become fast friends in the hours they had known each other, and they sat in the corner as they conversed with Bailey, Ben Nico, and Levi. Much to everyone’s surprise, Levi was Elena’s great-nephew. To Jo’s horror and his delight, Levi had nervously blabbed that he and Jo had slept together. Jo quickly changed the subject and Elena pretended to forget about it as Levi introduced her to Nico. 

The rest of their friends and family were scattered around the room, and all of the kids were upstairs playing as adults rotated in and out to babysit. He looked over as Meredith continued to talk with Maggie and Hayes. Megan and Michelle Lin we're talking with Webber and a few other close friends and co-workers were scattered around the room. His eyes scanned the bright room for Jo and he eventually found her settling in a chair talking with Carina, Maya, and Teddy.

He had been keeping an extra eye on her, and Jo had definitely noticed. She gave him a light glare as she caught his eye, but only because it was the fifth or sixth time she had caught him staring. She tipped her drink of sparkling cider, which they had switched out for the wine so that no one would notice. Meredith had already commented on the smile across his face, but he couldn't help it. Here he was surrounded by all his friends and family, with his beautiful wife, and they are soon to be three children. He couldn't help but feel blissfully happy. 

He went back to talking with Meredith and took a sip of his spiked eggnog. However, he noticed Carina and Jo get up and head back into the little hallway by the guest bathroom and the office. It simply looked like they were going off to discuss something, but Alex noticed how Jo leaned forward and how Carian rubbed her back as they rushed off. 

“I'll be right back,” Alex said to Meredith as he turned around to set his eggnog on the kitchen counter.

“Okay,” Meredith said without giving him a second look as he slipped away and quietly made his way around the edge of the room.

As he ducked into the tiny hallway, neither one was there, but he didn't bother to check the office and instead knocked his knuckles on the bathroom door. The light Christmas music that was playing around them and the many conversations masked the sound of his wife throwing up. 

“Jo, it's me, can I help?” Alex said, knocking on the door again. 

Alex didn't get a reply, but the lock clicked and Carina opened the door. Jo was hunched over the toilet with her hair tied back and Carina stepped aside so he could step past her and kneel next to Jo as she continued to heave. He put one hand on her back, rubbing in gentle circles as Carina wet a washcloth and handed it to him before he put it on the back of her neck. 

“Has Josephine thrown up today before now?” Carina asked in concern as Alex glanced up at her. 

“No, this is the first time today,” Alex said quickly, glancing back at Jo.

Jo moaned as she sat back and he wrapped his arms around her waist. He sat down on the floor next to her as she leaned into him, closing her eyes as she caught her breath and rested against him. Alex rubbed up and down her arm as Carina got a cup from the drawer and filled it with water before handing it to him, but Jo turned her head away when he held it up to her lips. 

“Do you want anything else?” Carina asked, looking down at her with sympathetic eyes. 

Jo just shook her head and buried herself in Alex as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. 

“Alright, I shall let you rest and go move the offending cheese,” Carina said with a small smile. 

“Thank you,” Alex said, giving her a nod before she slipped out of the bathroom.

Jo sighed as she curled up on him more, and Alex pulled her to sit in his lap as he held her and rubbed her back. It sucked knowing there wasn't more he could do for her, but he knew it meant the world to her that he was here comforting her. He just rubbed soft circles into her red sweater and kissed her head. After a few more minutes, Jo picked up her head and he offered her the water again, but she refused. 

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, reaching out to cup her cheek. 

“I'm starting to be,” Jo said, looking at him, but her skin was still a little pale and clammy. He got the rag from the back of her neck and gently wiped it across her forehead.

“You want to hang out here a little longer?” Alex offered with a slight smile, already knowing her answer, as Jo just nodded and tucked her head back against his chest.

Alex just smiled and continued to rub her back. Honestly, he thought she might fall asleep right then and there, and he figured he could let her have a little nap until someone knocked on the door again. Now that she was pregnant, he knew he should start getting used to nights on the bathroom floor again. At least she wasn't as nauseous this time around, but he could tell she was tired. 

“Do you want me to kick everybody out and tell them to go home so we can crawl in bed together and fall asleep?” Alex asked, kissing her forehead with a smile as Jo giggled and pulled back as she looked up at him

“No, but you're sweet to ask,” Jo said, reaching out and putting a hand on his cheek.

He stared at her for a moment, even now while she was tired and nauseous, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He was head over heels in love with her. Even after being together for nearly a decade, he was still as much in love with her as he was when he first kissed her. Jo seemed to be staring at him too, as they got a little lost in each other's eyes. He leaned forward to kiss her, but considering she hadn't brushed her teeth, he kissed her nose as Jo just smiled. 

After a moment, she started to get up and he quickly moved to help her, putting one arm around her waist as he helped her up. Jo brushed her teeth with the little disposable mini toothbrushes that they had for guests. He peeked out of the bathroom before they went out together. Jo smoothed out the black skirt she was wearing as they walked out to the party. Jo still seemed a little tired, and he easily wrapped his arms around her as they stood in the entryway as they watched the party for a moment. He tried to sneakily put his hand over her belly as she intertwined her fingers with his before she moved his hand so as not to arouse suspicion.

“If you keep staring at me and putting your hand on my stomach, everybody's going to figure it out before we tell them,” Jo whispered to him. 

“Well, we could just tell them and then I wouldn't have to sneak around,” Alex said with a smile, although Jo giggled and squeezed his hand.

She smiled as she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Let's just keep it a secret for a little while longer, yeah.”

“Okay,” Alex said, easily giving in to her. 

“Hey, did you two get stuck under the mistletoe,” Webber teased them as he walked by, and they looked up to see that they were indeed under the mistletoe that Amber had put up. 

Jo giggled and rolled her eyes, but Alex quickly pulled her in for a kiss. She sighed happily against his lips as she kissed him back. He would never get tired of kissing her because every time felt like magic and he loved her more than he could ever describe.

They pulled apart as they heard the oohs and awes of people around them and turned to see everybody walking over to the windows.

“Well, all be, it's a Christmas miracle,” Bailey said as they walked over and joined her at the windows.

With the porch lights in the backyard and the gray light sky around them that never got too dark in the city lights, they could see a gentle snowfall in their backyard as the snow danced in the sky. It fell on the grass in a backyard, leaving white and green patches as the heavy snowflakes fell on the ground. Alex always loved the snow, growing up in Iowa, he loved the winter snow they got. For months he would run around and play in the enormous drifts, but as he got older, it became a hazard. He remembered the cold, snowy morning when his mom used to leave the door open and chill the house before she disappeared. He spent hours out in the cold searching for her and grew to hate the cold. He was elated to match with the then Seattle Grace, here they rarely got snow, but when they did, he now appreciated it with a childlike wonder as he watched the flakes fall.

“Alex,” Jo whispered, turning to him. “Will you go get the girls? I want them to see the snow.”

“Yeah,” Alex said with a wide grin as he hugged her waist before he left her side and raced upstairs. 

Joey and Tuck were playing on the Xbox with Farouk, Liam, and Austin in the loft area at the top of the stairs. Winston was bouncing baby Diane as the other kids played in the lot and the nursery as he watched them through the open door. Helena spotted him first as she squealed and ran over to him, always happy to see her daddy. He picked her up and threw her in the air, just once as she laughed before he looked around for Luna.

Jo had dressed the girls in identical soft red dresses with white tights and matching red bow headbands. Although Luna still wore hers, Helena had pulled her headband off at the first chance she got, like she did with anything they tried to put in her hair. Instead, Jo had just brushed her little brown curls back, but Alex thought both girls looked cute either way. 

“Hey Uncle Alex, wanna play a game with us?” Zola asked, running up to him.

“Maybe later Zo. Hey, do you guys wanna see the snow?” Alex asked, smiling as he watched Zola light up. 

“Yeah, hey Bailey, Ellis, it’s snowing!” Zola shouted as she ran over to the window and got up on the bench seat, looking out onto the front yard and the street.

All of the kids ran got up and ran over to the window. Their eyes lit up as they pressed their faces and hands against the glass as they watched the snow fall. Even the older boys, Joey, Tuck, Liam, Austin, and Farouk, paused their game and went over the window to see the snow as well. Finally, he spotted Luna and Scout as they came out of the nursery together, holding hands as they tried to climb up on the bench. He stepped over the baby gate and put Helena on his hip as he walked over to them. He then scooped up Luna and Scout and lifted them up onto the bench as they watched the snowflakes. There was just something about the snow that seemed to capture everyone's attention, no matter how young or old.

“Do you guys want to go downstairs and see it?” Alex offered, looking around at the kids and Winston, who held Diane and had come over to the window as well. 

“Yeah, I want to go play in it,” Ellis announced as she hopped down from the bench, ran over to the stairs, and opened the baby gate before he or Winston could protest.

The younger kids immediately made a break for the open stairs, including Pru, who led the charge as she ran over to the stairs before Alex raced over and blocked her path. 

“I got her,” Joey said, picking Pru up as Alex grabbed the baby gate. 

“Okay, can you older boys help me with the younger kids?” Winston asked as he came over with Diana and reached down to hold Allison's hand. 

“Yeah, come here Leo,” Farouk said as he picked up his cousin. 

“Zola, can you grab Scout and I’ll get Luna?” Alex asked as he reached down to pick up Luna, separating her from Scout as she frowned. 

With the help of the older boys, all the little kids, Alex and Winston slowly descended down the stairs. Since all of the kids were upstairs they had removed the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs, so as soon as they reached the living room, all of the kids ran over to where the adults were still watching the snow from the windows. Meredith stood next to Ellis as she opened the sliding glass door and ran outside in just her party dress. Reeses was quick to follow him and the two frolicked around in the snow. 

Alex walked over to Jo, who turned back as she heard them approach and smiled, reaching out for one of the girls. Luna reached out to her while Helena was content with him. Jo held Luna close, pressing her cheek to Luna’s as she pointed out the snow on the window. 

“Looks like we're getting a white Christmas after all,” Alex said with a smile, looking at the snowfall before he caught Jo staring up at him and they exchanged a smile.

Meredith stood at the open glass doors and laughed as she watched Ellis play. Her siblings soon followed and so did the rest of the kids. They started to play in the fresh snow, not caring that it was freezing out, and the adults all followed them out as well. Jo and Alex walked outside and stood in the middle of their backyard with the white flakes falling down on them. 

Jo held out her hand, catching a few flakes and holding them up to Luna before they quickly melted on her palm. Luna watched her and held up her hands as well, catching a few flakes on her hand as she looked at them, smiling as they melted and reaching up to catch more. 

Alex watched Helena take in the snow as she watched the large flakes fall. He grabbed her waist as he crouched down. He set her on his knee like he always did and tested out the snow with his hand. It was cold, but soft and fluffy snow as he brought it up to Helena. He held it out to her as her little long fingers reached out and grasped the snow. She shivered as she felt it, but still smiled in delight. 

He held her by her waist as he lifted her up and set her down in the snow. Helena’s eyes went wide as she felt the snow through under her little black shoes. She quickly decided that she didn't like it and let out a cry as Alex quickly picked her back up again and brushed the snow off her feet.

“Sorry baby, it's colder than Daddy expected,” Alex said as he grabbed another handful of snow and held it up to her as she seemed content to play with it in his hand.

He watched as Helena played with the snow before she grabbed a handful from his palm and brought it up to her mouth as she ate her first bit of snow.

“Alex!” Jo reprimanded him, with a little laugh and when he looked up she was smiling. 

“What, it's fresh snow?” Alex said, just smiling up at her.

“Yucky,” Luna said, shaking her head at both of them, as she looked over at Jo and they shook their heads together as Jo stuck out her tongue.

He stood up and took the chance to wrap his arm around Jo's waist and held her close. He stared at her, taking her in as she looked at the snow, and Luna, and Helena. Then he took the chance to lean in to kiss her cheek. “Merry Christmas Jo.” 

“Merry Christmas Alex,” Jo smiled as she looked over at him, so warm and happy as she reached out to cup his cheek, tilted her head and leaned in to kiss him again. 

They pulled back as they looked at their girls, who giggled and smiled at the snow before Alex leaned down to kiss both of their heads and Jo kissed their cheeks.

“Murry Chis-mas,” Luna said with a smile that seemed brighter than the star of Christmas.

“Cis-us,” Helena shouted throwing up her arms in excitement her smile matching Luna’s.

“Merry Christmas girls,” Alex and Jo said at the same time, smiling at their daughters.

And a Merry Christmas it was.

[beenovel]

Picnics and Surprises

Pairing: Sigrid x fem!reader

Word count: 1,647

Warnings: fluff I guess?

Summary: Four years after the quest you prepare a surprise for Sigrid.

A/N: I was very sad that there were so few wlw fics for Sigrid (or any Tolkien females, really) so I decided to take matters into my own hands. This is my first fic so please be kind. Thank you to @elvish-sky for beta reading!

Character ages: Sigrid is 19 with you being around the same age, Tilda is 13, and I couldn’t find and age range for Bain so I just went with around 15-16 for him.

You walked through the markets of Dale looking for the florist. You wanted this to be perfect. Sigrid had done so much for you, and you wanted to do this for her.

You had been a part of the company during the quest to reclaim Erebor (at Gandalf’s insistence of course). That’s when you had met Sigrid. You knew there was something there but you didn't have the time to deal with it.

Then the quest was over and the dragon slain and the mountain claimed by Thorin. You had decided to stay in Dale instead of in the mountain. You felt more at home under the open sky and Bard offered to let you stay with him.

You knew you had fallen in love with Sigrid and after that, it was only a matter of time before you got together and started courting.

Four years later and you were ready to take the next step. Tonight you were going to propose. If the weather cooperated with you that is.

You had been planning this picnic for weeks, plotting with your found family to make the perfect proposal.

You were going to propose under the starlight and you had almost everything ready. Food, candles, blankets, books, and the most important part. The ring.

It had a silver setting and a moonstone surrounded by small leaves and flowers. You were sure she was going to love it.

Finding the flowers you wanted, you bought them and looked to the sky with trepidation. It had been bitingly cold and windy all morning. Those clouds were far too dark for your liking.

This morning’s errands had taken a lot longer than planned and you began to worry. Tilda could only keep Sigrid out of the house and away from Bard and Bain’s preparations for so long after all.

It turned out your worry was well-founded because as you turned to go back to Bard’s home it started to drizzle. By the time you got back, the drizzle was a downpour and your cloak was soaked through.

Bain was waiting for you at the door and relieved you of your basket while you shed your cloak.

“Quite the storm out there” he commented.

“I know,” you said with a frown “so much for proposing.”

“We’ve taken care of it,” Bard said as he joined you in the entryway.

“What are you talking about?” you asked, confused.

“Come with me!” Bain said excitedly as he dragged you to the study.

You gasped.

“Do you like it?” Bain asked, clearly nervous.

“Like it? It’s wonderful!”

They had removed all the furniture from the room and replaced it with what appeared to be every blanket and pillow in the house. Lanterns from the ceiling gave off a soft glow as Bain added the wine, fruit, and flowers to the small pile of food on the floor.

With that you and Bard headed upstairs, you to change and him to get some of his, Bain, and Tilda’s belongings. He explained that when Sigrid and Tilda returned he, Bain, and Tilda would all go to a friend’s for the night.

“How did you get all this done so fast? The rain only started an hour ago.”

“When I saw the clouds on the horizon this morning I knew it was going to rain. We started pretty much as soon as you left.”

You stopped on the landing and turned to Bard.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for making my daughter so happy, and for being a part of my life.”

You let out a shaky exhale at that and Bard chuckled and pulled you into a quick hug.

“Come now, we don’t want you getting all puffy-eyed. There’s work to do.”

You nodded and laughed and went to your room. You changed into a simple dress that would be comfortable for sitting on the floor.

Grabbing the ring from its hiding place and putting it in your pocket, you went and laid out one of Sigrid’s favorite dresses for her.

You went back downstairs to find Bain in the kitchen heating the wine with spices.

“I figured with it being so cold and wet-” he cut off with a vague gesture to the pot.

“A splendid idea!”

Bain rewarded you with a warm smile.

“I can’t wait for you to be my sister.”

Your heart swelled.

“I can’t wait either.”

“Neither can I,” Bard said from the doorway, “but let’s get moving before they get back.”

“No need to get pushy, Da, we have time.”

The front door opened with a slam as the frozen girls rushed in. Bard turned to Bain with an expression that had “I told you” written all over it. Bain raised his hands in surrender as his father turned to waylay the girls before Sigrid could see the study.

You and Bain looked at each other and suddenly you were both stifling excited yet hysterical giggles.

You breathlessly listened to Bard as he explained that Sigrid had to go upstairs and get changed because there was a surprise for her but she had to be in dry clothes for it.

“I have no complaints with dry clothes Da, just the secrecy” you heard Sigrid say as Bain poured the wine into mugs.

Once you were sure Sigrid was upstairs you took the mugs from Bain and went to the study. You set the mugs down on the table and went to the entryway to see the others off. You got quick smiles, hugs, and words of encouragement from everyone, then you bolted the door behind them.

You could hear Sigrid approaching the stairs and you went to stand at the bottom. When she saw you she gave you a wide, but nervous smile.

You laughed lightly as she descended the stairs.

“Calm down, my love, I just wanted to spend some time alone with you.”

She visibly relaxed and reached out to hug you.

“Mmmm, I missed you” she murmured into your shoulder.

“You saw me this morning.”

“Doesn’t matter, I still missed you.”

You pulled away from each other.

“Now what’s all this about a surprise?”

You smiled and led her to the study.

“I was planning on a picnic at sunset but with the rain-”

You opened the door to the study and Sigrid gasped.

“Y/n, this is beautiful!”

“Thank you, but I’m afraid most of the credit goes to your father and brother. They set everything up.”

Sigrid leaned in for a quick kiss before walking over to where the basket was set up. You grabbed the wine and joined her.

You gave her the flowers and she smiled before bringing them up to her nose to smell them.

“Mmm, my favorites!”

You chuckled lightly.

“I know, that’s why I got them.”

You pulled out the books and the food with a smile.

“Dig in!”

Two hours later and you were both very relaxed, any and all stress melting away in each other’s company. Even just reading together was enough to relax you both completely, but the talking was better.

There was a gentle lull in the conversation as you leaned back on the pillows and Sigrid leaned back on you. Looking up at the lanterns above you decided it was time.

Taking a deep breath you gently helped Sigrid sit up.

“My love?”

“I wanted to ask you a question.” Well, looks like you were getting right into it.

Sigrid turned to face you completely.

“I actually had a question for you too.”

Your eyebrows lifted.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“It’s probably better if I ask my question first.” You turned to your pocket to get the ring for a moment and when you looked back to Sigrid your jaw dropped. She was looking down at her lap nervously.

In her hand was a ring.

“I wanted to ask if you would-” she cut off when she looked up and saw what you were holding.

You locked eyes for a moment, staring at each other with disbelief before you both burst into laughter. Sigrid bent over double and you were wheezing violently.

“Looks like we had similar plans my dear!” you gasped out when you could finally breathe again.

“I guess so!” Sigrid said as she continued to laugh, which set you off again.

When you had both finally calmed down you looked back up at Sigrid. She had tears in her eyes.

“So I take it that’s a yes?” You chuckled.

“Yes!” Sigrid yelled as she tackled you backward with a kiss. It was long and sweet. When you finally resurfaced for air you both sat up and you held out your ring for Sigrid to see.

“Y/n...” she breathed out “it’s stunning.”

“I’m glad you like it,” You said as you took her hand in yours.

You gently slid the ring on her finger and you smiled at each other.

“Now where’s mine?”

-

-

-

-

Extra:

“YOU WERE GOING TO PROPOSE?!?!?!?”

“Bain, calm down,” Bard said with a poorly concealed smile and you and Tilda stifled giggles as the conversation went on.

��SHE WAS GOING TO PROPOSE!!! AND SHE DIDN’T TELL US!!”

“As I already told you, I wasn’t planning on it yet but I figured if I was getting some alone time with-”

“YOU HAD A RING AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME! Y/N TOLD ME AND SHE’S NOT EVEN MY SISTER YET! BETRAYAL! YOU BETRAYED ME! MY OWN SISTER!”

You and Tilda began to openly laugh at this and Bard was also struggling to hold back laughter.

“I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE MARRYING Y/N! AT LEAST THEN I’LL HAVE A DECENT SISTER! WHO TELLS ME THINGS!”

“Hey! What am I, an orc?” Tilda cried, indignant.

Bard came to stand beside you as you watched a new round of bickering unfold.

“Are you sure you want to join this family?” He asked with a laugh.

“Positive.” you cackled in reply.

[calumthoodshands]

2021 Writing Self-Evaluation!

thank you @burstingsunrise and @daydadahlias my dear friends this is terrifying for my baby writer ass but i guess i’ll try! Under the cut

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: seven

2. Word count posted for the year: 164,489

3. Fandoms I wrote for: 5sos only!

4. Pairings: so far we’re cake exclusive but well i’m caught up in a story since literally march so

5. Story with the most Kudos/Bookmarks/Comments:

all of them and surprising to no one, are from Days in the sun. i sometimes lose my mind a little when i look at the number of kudos being over 100. how. how!! and so many comments!! over 30!! bat shit insane. i’m glad people like it but it does stun me every day

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why):

i’m gonna name two bc the reasons are different. Dits, because it’s the biggest fic i have written and ever will write, bc i managed to keep a story up in over 130 k words without losing the plot, bc i myself love the world i created in it. everytime i finish a chapter i’m baffled at myself that i’m actually doing this. that i’m writing this fic for soon a whole year.

the second one is probably The easy way out. it’s in no way a particularly outstanding fic, its not long or incredibly short or anything, but i’m proud of how it came to be. i wrote it in one go in just a few hours, i got the exact vibes across that i wanted, and it even did quite well for some reason. i like it a lot

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

i do have a fic i am not proud of but i dont see a point in mentioning it

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

okay i want to mention several people bc im me and these all made me cry

starting off with megs @igarbagecannoteven bc seriously every comment she leaves on dits makes my heart hurt bc theyre so detailed and really make me believe that i’m not just doing nonsense but actually. like. having an effect on people with what i’m writing. i appeciate it more than i can put into words

second of all was that one time i got a random ask from c @soggyburgers and it was in the very beginning still and out of all fics, about my sad fic high above the city lights. i couldn’t believe someone actually read my stuff. and thought it was good. i seriously think about that message almost every month at least once. i’m still sorry i made you cry, c, i hope you’ve forgiven me

third, and a must for me to mention is the playlist des @cakes-curls made all by herself for dits. when i tell you i cried for half an hour. that my fic had such an impact someone would actually sit down and invest the time to find songs that fit the fic and the vibes????????????????? i’m. i can’t. i’ve talked about it a lot of times already and still dont know what to say to express how much it means to me.

9. A time when writing was really, really hard:

i had a huge writer’s block at one point. i think it took me a month to finish a 3 k word chapter. but also right now, i was struggling with the new chapter for dits, then i was gone over new years, and i have so much to do and i cant sort my thoughts enough to get any further. i’m incredibly frustrated atm. i also constantly think about how i dont give characterisation enough thought.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

probably the first kiss in dits! i had it planned completely different in the beginning, only for it to take not only WAY TOO MANY CHAPTERS but also to happen in a completely different setting.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

i literally can’t if anyone has suggestions hit me up i’m too tired and there are too many words

12. How did you grow as a writer this year:

i mean. i started this year. i learned how to write. how to make sentences flow. those kinda things. basics

13. How do you hope to grow next year:

I really wanna keep an eye on characterisation and i really really need to broaden my vocabulary

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

actually, i think all the writers in the club. the fact that we have a community where you can ask the most stupid questions, where you can always ask for advice, even just reading what other people write and ask about. but also just reading their fics in general. meg’s and molly’s cake fics and jess’ were so good they were the last push to get me into fic writing. but also special mention to molly. thanks for always answering my dumb ass questions no matter when or what and helping me w fic ideas <3

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

oh definitely. i was in france!! i was where the magic happens!! but also just personal perceptions of things and preferences, but i won’t specify anything. i cant afford to be perceived even more

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

write. just write. dont be afraid of ideas going to ‘waste’. dont be afraid of writing things u can’t do. if you dont post it, who will know about it? no one but you. always write it down, no matter how small the idea. u can always edit, but u cant get ideas back.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

i have several fics i want to write, but as long as im on dits still, i dont have the brain capacity to work on other longer projects. i would love to write the neighbour fic, or the ballet fic.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

I’m probably the last rn so if you read this and wanna do this pretend i tagged you!!

[sparklingdust4612]

13, 21, 23

13. favorite writing song/artist/album of this year?

My favourite songs of the year are Livin' for that by Lil Pitchy and OMG What's happening by Ava Max (Lets not forget Con Calma by Daddy Yankee feat. Katy Perry 😍😍), artists of the year are Ava Max and Demi Lovato and I havent ever listened to an entire album...ever so I wont talk about that 😅😅

21. most memorable comment/review?

(Gotta check all my comments first lol)

I will categorize my most memorable reviews... (sorry, this got waaaaay too detailed but i couldnt exclude any of those 😅😅)

(AO3)

Memorable reviews on THG Drabbles:

I almost peed my pants laughing at this! by @lemonluvgirl87 on Chill... (It just made me crack up again, as if i wasnt dying because of how much I was laughing when writing this!)

This was soo adorable! Such a sweet meet-cute! Aww, Peeta was so cute when he was like 'Come back, keep me company!' And I loved the description of her as a 'walking, talking fantasy.' ;) The drawing and note-passing, how adorable! And yay, she agreed to the date! Follow-up! Sequel/epilogue! : D Thanks for the smiles! by @jhsgf82 on Flights and flirtation (Made me smile like a Cheshire cat haha)

These sweatpants are hazardous. Maybe he should just take them off! by @winegirl65 on Its sweatpants season! (It was so unexpected like I just woke up and saw 'hey, gotta reply to a new review', mind you, i hadnt seen the review, just knew it was there. And then I read this and choked on air. It was so damn hard to not laugh loudly at 6 AM when everyone was asleep 🤣🤣)

Memorable reviews on my Divergent one-shots:

I’m going to have some coffee and feed the kids…. We’ll talk about your ‘little surprise’ later by Michaela18 (my honorary mom and fave person in the entire world lol, she woke up to a vibrating cellphone which wouldnt stop because I posted 4 chapters all at once and I hadnt told her i'd be doing it lol, but ofc, she usually knows all of my future plans so this was her reaction 🤣🤣)

Memorable reviews on my Divergent fic exchange contribution:

Well, I received a lot of long, amazing reviews on Out of the darkness, into the light. It was something that pushed me further into my writing mania seeing this fic reach 500 hits in only a few hours! It was also my first time writing something so angsty I couldnt read it over all at once and begged my beta to do it instead 😅😅

Apart from these, @jhsgf82's reviews on her birthday gift fic made me so so happy, it was totally worth all the time I spent stressing on writing it for her! (cant put them here because, spoilers haha. LOVE YOU MANDYY!!!)

Memorable replies on fanfics by their authors:

Oh my god this comment made me so happy! I was so scared cause I thought people wouldn't like it😁

I was hoping someone would say something about rye & delly😂

Awe thank you! This means so much to me!❤💙

(I'll definitely be posting some smut soon😉 I was going to make this chapter longer but at the time when I wrote it, I was super tired and was trying to post it so it wouldn't be deleted 😁)

The next chapter will be posted soon! ^^ and if I need song suggestions I'll definitely reply to this comment and ask😁 thank you so much! This comment made me so happy❤💙 on Play that song.

Thank you!!! I am smiling ear to ear at both this comment and the one you relayed from Michaela. Comments like these really keep me motivated, and even though the fandom has definitely dwindled I still have tons of drafts that I can edit and get posted. I’ll see if I can come up with an epilogue for this one too, I can imagine our over adventurous couple may have had at least one unexpected pregnancy along the way :)

Thank you both so much, seriously you all have made my day <3 on His eager student.

I loved reading your comment, and am so incredibly flattered that you've read all my fanfics. I have more, but started taking some of them down. It just seemed like not many people were interested in my stories anymore. But then I get a comment like yours and -- wow!

I am definitely going to continue in the fandom. Too many stories I need to finish, and still loving the fan fiction that keeps being posted. Where would I be without fan fiction? In a sad sad place.

Glad you dropped by, glad you're reading. Made me happy.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! on UNDER SUSPICION

Ahhhhh thank you!!!! Not gonna lie, I was waiting for your comment on the sexy times 😆♥️ by @rosegardeninwinter on The sexy librarian trope: A check out-take.

Aww, thanks! Will keep this in mind - wanna keep my baby happy (and focused on her studies) 😇 on Open season.

:D Thanks so much! We're glad you liked it, and we're glad you died laughing! by @rosefyrefyre on Fractured fairytale wedding. (I love the part where the comment says "We're glad you died laughing" 🤣)

omg thank you so much :) I forget that people still read this sometimes, this is such a sweet comment! glad you liked it! on At the peak.

OMG Thank you so much for this comment!!!! It’s amazing!! I’m so glad you liked it and that you fell of your ass because of my writing!! Like…what???? I can do that?! 🤣 (yes, you can)

There will definitely be more smutty one shots in the future!! 😏 if you have a special request you can send me it on tumblr and see what I can do! 🤩 by @softlikethesunset12 on Thank god for Spotify.

(FFN)

Memorable reviews on a Divergent one-shot:

Wow...That song was literally made for this fic. Good job :) by AriIsDivergent on Follow everywhere I go. (made me so damn happy someone felt that way about my writing)

Most cherished review ever!

I am so glad I received the recommendation to read this story. Nicely executed and well written but... I have so many questions! I am a ‘need details’ kind of person and for me you could have continued writing but I know the song is over and the story done. Despite this, I loved it and I will happily read it again! Thank you! by Michaela18 on Follow everywhere I go.

(This last made me so damn happy and confident, I mean I had been such a huge fan of her writing and she said this!! This is also my most cherished review because it's what started the friendship I have with Michaela who has been such an understanding, caring, mentor and has literally adopted me as the daughter she never had. She's always there to give it straight to me and I love her like crazy 😍😍)

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t?

I wanted to write a lot of smutty fics but as you can see, I only now wrote explicit smut, the one I have been meaning to write in nearly everything that came to mind, every kink I have. Its a little disheartening but now that I am slowly gaining confidence in my smut abilities (due to my latest Everlark PWP-ish two-shot), I hope to write a shitton of smutty fics/smut in fics and I am so very excited!

Thank you soooo much for playing with me and I hope I didnt bore you guys with all the memorable reviews I found 😅😅

[imonthinice]

The Criminal Psychology Majors, Jason Todd x Fem!Reader Part 9/?

Word Count: 1.7k

Author’s Note: Y/N- Your Name, A/N - Any Name (Your Best Friend’s Name)

I am sorry. lmao.

Half of my links are glitched tf out fuck this shit, touched grass yesterday but that grind don’t fuckin stop babey

Warnings: Angst - Injury, Description of said injury, Mentions of Jason’s past, Swearing, Dark Themes, no beta bitch we die like Jason Todd

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14) (Part 15) (Part 16) (Part 17) (Part 18) (Part 19) (Part 20)

Jason clutched his right side as he gasped for a long breath of the cold, rainy air surrounding him. Everything hurt and he could barely move enough to text Dick that he was down. He would hold and add pressure to the stab wound sitting directly on his waist, but he could feel the blood seeping through the gaps in his fingers as he held it. His hands were covered by the blood and he was losing it fast.

He wasn’t going to walk this off by any means, he was going to need Dick to go get him and bring him back to the hospital wing of the Batcave because he couldn’t move and he felt his eyes drooping as he waiting and tried to keep his breathing in check, while Dick was scrambling to go get him.

There would be a few questions he would have to answer to Y/N. Not even just Y/N, to Lian, his Goddaughter, who he was planning on seeing in the morning since Y/N was going to a dance competition, or at least he thought she was.

But in that moment, so many memories flew back into his head, the hopelessness as he sat there for a few seconds, bleeding out after the explosion that Joker had set off on him. And then the minutes in the Lazarus Pit as he drowned himself back to life, the water filling his lungs as he cried and screamed. But no one came.

This time, however, Dick came.

Dick swooped his baby brother up and onto his back and he tried to run to the Batmobile as fast as he could, knowing time was of the essence for saving Jason’s life. Jason had broke off from Dick for a few seconds before this moment, and it was the only thing Dick was worried about. That Dick had said to come back to him, alive.

In the car, Dick put his hands on Jason's gaping wound, trying to press his hands into it as well to slow the bleeding, the Batmobile had the ability to drive itself, and Dick thanked whatever God was watching that it did. Jason was struggling for breath at this moment, and Dick was terrified.

“You’re going to be oaky, Jase. I swear. Please. Don’t die on me, it feels like yesterday that I got you back,” he leaned into Jason’s face, “Not again, please,” Dick begged and begged as he rushed Jason to Alfred, who was waiting to operate on Jason.

--------------------------------------------

Y/N woke up as always, this time, without a text from Jason. She thought nothing of it, thinking he was safe in his house with his loving family. She went to go get coffee to kick start her day, and A/N wasn’t in the kitchen. She, still, thought nothing of it, since A/N’s lover was over the night before and she had to turn up her music to ignore the sounds coming from the other side of the house. She sent Jason a quick text,

Good morning, Jay. I hope you slept well.

And she returned to her room, coffee in hand, to write some quick little stories about  what she had placed in her journal. Not many of the ideas in there were able to be built off of, but she still tried her best with every idea she had, to see if it could be something more.

It normally never was, but it was always something she craved. The ideas of writing a book always enticed her, but she never thought she was talented enough to do so.

She heard her roommate’s door open and then the front door as A/N waved off her lover. It was a quiet Saturday morning, and Y/N loved that as she dove further and further into her work, immersing herself in the story of two lovers who were destined to meet after one moved to the hometown of the other to pursue criminal psychology.

She couldn’t get her mind off of Jason. They hadn’t even known each other for a week but she knew he was worth her time. A few hours passed by from when she sent the first text.

---------------------------------------------

Dick held Jason’s hand as he was hooked up to many different machines, he could breathe on his own, but the IV and the blood bags were hard to keep Dick’s eyes off of. If only I had been watching a little closer, he thought.

Jason fumbled in his pain-induced sleep, moaning and groaning as he did so when he opened his eyes to find a worried, sleep-deprived and very rough-looking Dick at his bedside, to which, Dick collapsed on Jason in a hug.

“Thank God,” Dick breathed.

“What... what the fuck.... what the fuck happened?” Jason stuttered, like a blanket of sleep and drugs had limited his mobility and brain function.

“I don’t know, Jase. That’s what I was hoping you’d tell me, but then again, your blood alcohol level was suspicious.”

“I... I didn’t drink... drink that much.”

“No, you didn’t. But you did drink, who was with you?”

“I don’t... know.”

“I think you were roofied so they could get the upper hand on you. You almost died, Jase.”

“Come...c’mere,” Jason managed to say, and when Dick came to him, he moved on of his hands onto Dick’s cheek, “Big... big annoying... big little annoying brother.”

“Shhhhhh, little wing,” Dick comforted his little brother, “You weren’t supposed to grow that much taller than me,” he laughed, “Dickhead,” he laughed again, then sighed, and stepped back from Jason to pace back and forth, he was stressed, “I told Roy-”

“Will.”

“Will, sorry. I told Will that you won’t be able to see Lian today, he asked what happened, he might drop by.”

“He should... shouldn’t have to... see me this... this way,” Jason said, eyes pooling with tears, “No one... should.”

“Don’t know how we’re going to explain this to your little girlfriend.”

“Oh... Man... I like... I like her.”

“I know you do, and that’s an issue when you’re high as a kite in a hospital bed, bleeding out, Jase,” Dick tried to explain, “Especially when she doesn’t know you’re Red Hood, dumbass.”

“Oh,” he said.

“I know, Jase. If it was me and Barbara didn’t know, I wouldn’t know what to do,” he sighed, “Haven’t even met this girl,” he laughed.

“It’s... it’s only been... 5 days,” he stuttered.

“and 3 back-to-back, multiple hour, spanning days, worth of dates. You don’t do that with someone you don’t think should meet your family.”

“You’re... stubborn.”

“And you’re my brother. It doesn’t take blood to exhibit the same traits.”

“The meds... are... are wearing off.”

“Do you need more?”

“Not... yet,” he struggled with his words, “Phone?”

“I mean, yeah I can give you your phone,” Dick said as he went to go unplug and hand Jason his phone, realizing that Y/N had texted Jason he said, “Guess you have someone who wants to know where you are more than Will does.”

“Will cares,” Jason said as he took the phone and read Y/N’s text,

I guess it isn’t morning anymore, huh.

Well that’s on me for texting you at 6 in the morning after I know you’ve been working late.

And I’m going to see my Goddaughter today, so I’ve been sleeping in to preserve energy for her.

Can’t forget that she’s what, 1 year old? Girl must have a lot of energy.

Her name’s Lian, and yeah. She’s a ball of energy.

He said as Lian and her dad, Will, formerly known as Roy, walked into the hospital wing of the Batcave. The secret wasn’t hidden to the little girl yet because she couldn’t remember a lot. But, she sure did recognize her Uncle Jay when she screamed her name.

Will brought his daughter up and put her beside her Uncle, and she cuddled into him, he would hold her back.

“Hey... Will.”

“You look like shit, Jaybird.”

“I feel... feel like shit.”

“You’re also talking slow, bud.”

“Drugs... do that... Will.”

“At least you’re not dead, I have no idea how I’d cope or even explain that to Lian.”

“She... she has your... eyes.”

“She’s growing into my nose too.”

“Your nose... looks like shit... on your face.”

“Okay, dickhead. You’re bedridden but yeah, attack me like you used to, I’ll just pull the plug.”

“Lian... would hate you... you for that,” he groaned as he said it.

“Do you need more drugs? I can tell Dick,” Will asked.

“Yeah... I think-”

“Don’t worry about finishing that, Jaybird. I got you.”

------------------------------------------------------

The wet ground surrounding the house Y/N lived in was a representation of what she considered, the bad things, washing away from her life as she got to know Jason more. She wished they could talk more that day, but she did not want to take away time from him and his Goddaughter. Family matters a lot to Y/N, so a thought like that just seemed selfish for her to think when she knew that little girl needed him.

She didn’t think he got injured or anything from the Office, it was a safer place than the fuckin Wayne Manor hallways. She texted Artemis,

So, you’re Wally’s girlfriend, and Wally is Dick’s best friend? Am I hearing you right?

That’s basically the intertwine we have here, yes.

So once you’re in this family, you’re IN, huh?

Nervous?

Not a chance.

The thrill of flipping off pap hasn’t left you yet?

Does everyone know about that? And yes, it’s still massively fun to do.

Wally says Dick is the only one who doesn’t think its that funny.

Lame.

C’mon now, that’s my best friend, but yeah, that’s pretty fucking lame.

You’re the fun best friend, then. You see the fun in making a fool of the pap.

You know it.

Artemis knew of what happened on patrol between Jason and his unknown attacker. Dick had told Artemis to distract Y/N from wondering why Jason seemed drunk, if he seemed drunk. The extents they went to to hide the fact that they were the vigilantes protecting the city, they didn’t know if she was going to be able to keep the secret.

Jason would talk to her after that message,

That storm last night was terrible.

I wish that we were together when it happened. I hate lightning.

Well, you were in Cali.

Did I not tell you? My competition was cancelled because the entire country is fucked with weather.

Oh. That sucks.

Do you want to spend the night here?

---------------------------------------

Do you want to spend the night here?

Jason stared at that text for a while. He did, he wanted to spend the night with her, but he was in pain, hooked to machines, with obvious wounds and bandages. He couldn’t spend the night with her.

I can’t. I’m in Metropolis with Will and Lian. Can we reschedule?

Of course we can. As long as you make sure we actually get to spend the night together.

He asked Dick in that moment, “How... how long... long til I heal?”

“Depends. You’ll be okay-ish in 5 days, but in 7-10 we have to take out your stitches if you’ve been taking care of them,” he said.

“That... that long? Damn.”

[kurodachimagic]

Chocolate and Cherries - Chapter 1

Summary: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.

Rating: Pg 13

Tags/warnings: Fluff, getting together, au, Writer Adachi, Chef Kurosawa.

Word count: 6.2k

A/n: This story was written for the cherry magic mini bang! Thank you @hiwatari-art for inviting me to join! Had a lovely time working with you as always. Thank you to my other artist over on twitter guacagabs. The entire story is being posted right now. Thank you to @schnaf for being a great friend and beta!

Read on ao3

Adachi dragged his feet on the pavement as he made his way home from work. He was already too exhausted to start his writing day with the best mindset but it would have to do. He’d already skipped four days this week and if he didn’t actually sit down to work on his book, it would never be published. He let out a deep sigh and shook his head slightly.

The situation was not ideal by any means, he was not great at cooking and it was already too late to start dinner, but he definitely needed to eat something or his mind would absolutely quit on him, he knew that much.

Adachi knew he should probably get something healthier but he refused to waste even more time walking to the store, so he decided to stop by the food cart near his flat for his usual emergency menu: two tuna onigiris with mayo - along with a can of soda in the hopes that the caffeine would boost his creativity. He was not too happy about it, but he didn’t have much time to contemplate his choice because as soon as he had paid, the first few droplets of water hit his shoulders. Looking up, he felt the next few drops hit his nose and his forehead. He cursed inwardly and simply took off awkwardly running the last few blocks home, trying his best not to slip and fall, his dress shoes nothing but a hazard in this particular situation.

The building door was so close, he could see it through the pouring rain; just a few meters and he would be home. Adachi rushed, his hand extended already to grab at the door handle when his body collided with something - someone - and fell backwards. It was as if time had slowed down; he could see the face of the person he ran into frozen in shock, his eyes widening as he saw Adachi falling, while Adachi could only think about the pain this would cause him, physical, yes, but mostly emotional. He always managed to get himself in embarrassing situations and now -

His neighbour extended his hand just in time to catch Adachi’s and pulled him upright effortlessly, his expression switching from shock to a relieved smile. “Are you ok? I’m so sorry, I hadn’t seen you.”

“Thank you! I’m so sorry,” Adachi said, feeling the heat rise to his face, partly because of his clumsiness and partly because his neighbour had not let go of him yet. In fact, Adachi could have sworn that the guy was rubbing his thumb on the back of his hand. He didn’t know what to do, so he tried again. “Uh, sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”

“It’s ok, I’m glad that you didn’t get hurt.” The man seemed to suddenly remember they were standing in the pouring rain and pulled Adachi to the door. “Come, you’ll catch a cold in this weather.”

No matter how hard he thought, Adachi couldn't remember ever catching his name but he had seen this man before in the elevator and in some of the common areas. He seemed to be a bit of a recluse, much like himself.

The man opened the door and finally let go of his hand before ushering him in. “After you, Adachi.”

Adachi’s eyes widened; he didn't know how the man knew his name, but he didn’t mention it. He walked inside and called the elevator, followed closely by his saviour. Once the doors opened, he stepped in and turned around, pressing the button for the fifth floor and finally facing the man. "Thank you, again…" he trailed off.

"Kurosawa. My name is Kurosawa." He pressed the fourth-floor button.

Adachi smiled and bowed to him. "It was nice seeing you, Kurosawa. Have a good night."

The elevator dinged and Kurosawa bowed with a smile before exiting. “Good night, Adachi,” he waved.

Adachi hesitantly waved back as the elevator doors closed. Before he knew it he was one floor up, opening the door to his flat, throwing his work bag on the sofa and taking his wet clothes off with a groan before going to the bathroom.

What a day. Not only had he stayed late to finish on that project Urabe had handed to him but he also made himself look like a fool in front of his very cool neighbour, and to add insult to injury now he needed a hot shower to hopefully avoid catching a cold. He shook his head and hopped under the stream, washing himself thoroughly and letting the hot stream relax his muscles.

Feeling in a bit of a better mood, Adachi got out of the shower, wrapped himself in a towel and went about getting into a comfy set of pyjamas. He finally sat at his desk and opened the white doc of doom, checking the time and cursing as he realized it was 9 pm already. He slouched in his chair, throwing his head back with a groan. This book was going to take a million years at this rate, he really needed to prioritize his schedule, put on some good hours into it each day, especially during the weekend, he needed to -

Adachi’s stomach growled loudly, reminding him that his emergency dinner laid abandoned in its bag. He got up and stomped over to the sofa, unwrapping the onigiris and eating them without so much as a thought before returning to his spot. He promptly sat down to continue with the daily task of staring at the document while he begged his brain to type something - anything - out. But his mind had other plans though, Kurosawa’s face and gentle smile kept popping in his mind. Maybe it was because of the way he moved, how he had kept him from falling with his sharp reflexes, or maybe it was how elegant he looked even when he was soaking wet, how well his suit fitted him. Kurosawa was like some sort of superhero, or… no, he was more like a Prince Charming from an epic battle world. That was a start - it was not the murder mystery he had thought about, but it was definitely a start.

The sound of Adachi’s footsteps worked like a metronome, helping his mind settle into a rhythm. He was starting to see things in more detail: The brave prince paced in his castle, his sword close by his side, the problems his kingdom was facing were almost too much to bear and with his father on the brink of death, it was all on him. A shadow appeared above the citadel - the… the… ‘kingdom x’ was being attacked by a three-headed dragon. How would he fix this and save his people? Had someone sent the dragon or did it act with free will? Did the soon-to-be king have secret magic powers? Maybe they were a secret even to himself!

With renewed energy and excitement, Adachi sat down to work. This new world just wanted to be written, to become a reality, and he was not going to stop it. Aided by the occasional sip of soda and a few “stretching breaks” that were more like actual pacing, he managed to draft four thousand words by 5 am, effectively breaking his 3 thousand word record from just a few months ago. If he could keep up the pace he could finish the book within the next month and send it to Tsuge for editing and review. He sent a quick text to his friend to tell him the good news and got into bed; he would probably regret staying up so late tomorrow, but now he didn’t have it in him to care. Writing was definitely his call - even if he was very close to missing his goal of being a published author by 30.

---

The commute to work was nothing short of hell. The morning started with Adachi missing his usual train and having to take the next one during rush hour - not that he ever managed to avoid rush hour, but he usually took the first train during it so it wasn’t as crazy as later in the morning. This resulted in him having a very unpleasant ride, squeezed half to death between the sea of people, feeling like a canned sardine with a bad case of insomnia. That was the other issue, the previous writing night ended up being a success but even though he’d been exhausted by the time he was done, it had been impossible to fall asleep. Now he was on his way to a long workday with a pounding headache and a sour mood. If given the opportunity, Adachi would’ve chosen to take the day off to sleep and feel refreshed enough by sundown to continue writing.

His job was definitely a necessary evil, but sometimes he couldn’t help but resent it. On the verge of thirty, Adachi spent most of his day at the office, writing his reports, Urabe’s reports, and occasionally picking up the slack of some of his colleagues. There was barely any time for hobbies or relaxing and least of all to be an aspiring writer. To be completely honest, Adachi had started viewing his day job as his second career in the past year. His heart and soul were focused on his new goal, what he really wanted. In the end, if writing didn’t become his main income, it wouldn’t matter, he was passionate enough about it to continue no matter what. After all, living in the fantasy worlds he created was more than enough for him.

Adachi made it to his desk just on time, but running those last few blocks only served to make his mood even sourer. He pulled at the collar of his shirt with a small huff, still thinking about his writing and leaned back in his chair until it touched Urabe’s shoulder, startling him.

He turned around swiftly, blush already rising to his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Senpai.”

Urabe nodded and waved him off. Then, he cocked his head and looked at Adachi in more detail. “What is going on with you, Adachi? You look tired.”

“I just had trouble sleeping last night, that’s all,” Adachi said with a heavy sigh. He could picture so many things he would rather do than give explanations about his personal life, but he would feel too guilty if he was rude to Urabe when he was only worried about him.

“Hmm, are you sure that’s all?”

“Yes. I’m ok.” He attempted his best smile. “Thank you for asking.”

“Adachi,” Urabe pouted, his brows burrowed into a childish frown, just like every time he would ask Adachi to take on more work, any semblance of concern already gone out the window. “Can you finish this report for tomorrow? The boss is really piling stuff on my shoulders and I already had other plans for today.”

Sometimes Adachi wished he was a bad person, or a bad colleague even, but he couldn’t help taking on the extra work when it was needed, after all, he didn’t have much of a life. He rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yes, of course.”

“Oh, wait. Is your birthday today or tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

“And you’re turning 30, right?”

Adachi nodded once again, hoping to end the conversation as soon as possible; he didn’t want to be reminded of the passage of time or how much he hadn’t achieved by now.

Urabe rolled his chair closer and elbowed him. “Aaah, you sly weasel. Do you have a date?”

“Of course not. I’m just looking forward to getting home and sleeping.” That was literally his birthday plan.

Urabe frowned and gave him a quizzical look. “But you have... ‘dated’ before, right?” He winked.

Adachi shook his head slightly and saw the same look many people gave him, a mix of pity and judgement.

“You should ask one of the girls out. I’ve heard Yui is single and she’s very pretty!”

Adachi slowly turned his chair towards the copy machine and saw Yui across the room. She was, in fact, very pretty, but… she didn’t spark anything in him. She looked like a work of art, pleasant to look at, but not for him. “No, I don’t think that would work.”

“Adachi, if you don’t date someone by the time you turn 30, you will turn into a wizard!” He whispered.

“What? That’s ridiculous!”

“It’s true, you’ll see!”

Adachi rolled his eyes and turned back to his desk, finally starting on the reports needed. The sooner he was done with that, the sooner he could return to his writing.

--

The elevator opened its doors for Adachi and the ding that followed made his muscles relax instantly. Only a few more minutes and he would be up in his flat, taking his shoes off and cooking something quick before sitting down to write. He felt inspired by the beginning of this new story and he wasn’t about to let a bad day at work ruin that for him.

Just as the doors started to close, someone put a bag between them to keep them open. The first thing Adachi saw was a girl with a cute and gentle look, a black wispy fringe framing her face and a sweet smile. She nodded at Adachi and he smiled and nodded back. He wondered if he would ever date a girl like her, if sharing his life with a partner and doing things together would be so different than what he did now. The answer was probably not, since he assumed nobody would be supportive of him working all day and writing all night; if he was honest with himself, he didn’t really have time for a relationship, even if he sometimes yearned for a bit of company - theoretically. Adachi blinked repeatedly, suddenly crashing back into reality when he saw the looming presence of Kurosawa behind her, giving him a weird look he couldn’t quite place as he ushered the girl into the elevator.

Out of sheer awkwardness, Adachi nodded and mumbled a quiet hello at him, looking away as a blush crept onto his cheeks. Was that Kurosawa’s girlfriend? He groaned and let his head fall back against the elevator wall. He’d been caught staring at his neighbour’s girlfriend like a creep. He ventured a sideways glance and realized Kurosawa was still looking at him with a weird expression.

Thankfully, the ride was short and only a minute later, Adachi was home, barely paying any attention to his basic needs as per usual. He made some instant ramen and added a bit of egg to it before eating it mindlessly, daydreaming of his new story and the magic system involved.

Perhaps it was quickly becoming a much more ambitious project than he had anticipated but as long as the writing flowed, everything would be ok. What was supposed to be a long writing session soon turned into an early night after Adachi’s brain decided to shut down mid-sentence, putting him to sleep sitting at his desk, his head hanging down and his spine hunched over.

[edie-k]

Legally Ginger - Prologue (PG-13, Romione)

Now, for something totally different...

Title: Legally Ginger

Chapter 1/9

Rating: PG-13 (I use fuck more than the MPAA allows for PG-13 but that's a stupid rule - there's no explicit content)

Pairing: Romione endgame

Summary: When Ron Weasley's college girlfriend declines his proposal because he doesn't meet her standard for future husband, he decides comes up with a plan to let her see him in a new light.

Notes: This is an AU Muggle reimagination of Legally Blonde. It's very different than anything I have ever written - and my first chapter story. I intend to update each Monday.

Thank you to adnei for all of her beta feedback!

While I really enjoy Legally Blonde, it has some things that need a bit of updating or calling out in the year 2021. This fic will attempt to do those things but not lose the fun and fluffiness of the concept.

Also... I love the pop culture/time capsule references of the movie so plan to see that same vibe in this fic. If any of them are unclear to you, let me know in the comments because I love to talk pop culture!

Finally, lots of our favorites are scheduled to appear throughout the story - I eagerly anticipate all guesses as to who will be who!

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter or Legally Blonde or any of their characters are owned by me and are not being used for profit.

Link to AO3 or click below to read more.

“Hey Tim!” Ron Weasley shouted, raising his hand to greet the guy behind the coffee cart but not breaking his stride.

“Hey Ron! Thanks for that recommendation. She loved it!”

Ron grinned and kept on running his recreational route that wove through the Los Angeles campus of California University. Even though his cross country career had come to an end with the conclusion of his senior season this fall, he didn’t intend to let his personal records slip. In fact, he was almost working harder. If everything went according to plan tonight, he planned to be competing in the iconic Boston Marathon next April.

“Ron! We still on to study tomorrow?” shouted his chem lab partner Kelsey as he strode past her.

“Yep! We’re going to rock that test out!”

“Hi Ron!” he heard a few female voices chorus together as he passed the Zeta Beta house. Several girls were doing yoga out on the front lawn.

“Great form ladies!” he yelled back, grinning as he heard the giggles.

He grabbed his shirt to wipe his forehead and glanced at his watch. 4:30. He was approaching the house and he had time to do some cool down stretches, shower, check that they had enough brothers to cover the Animal Aid fundraiser tomorrow, send his Econ professor his problem set, and dress for dinner before he had to leave for the Delta Nu house.

He slowed to a jog as his feet hit the driveway. He took the porch steps two at a time before entering the house. Immediately, he was greeted by a snort.

“Pig! Good boy,” he greeted, scratching the pug behind his ears.

“Come on boy,” he said, starting up the house stairs to his room, Pig following dutifully behind. As president, he lucked out with his own room with an en-suite bathroom but as was typical for his life, it wasn’t empty.

“Hey brother brother!” two voices said.

Ron rolled his eyes at the twins. “That joke will never be funny.” Fred and George grinned, one sprawled on his bed and one in his desk chair.

“We just have this last semester to even make the joke. Afterwards, it’ll be pathetic,” Fred said.

“That 40k is so close I can taste it,” said George.

His twin brothers were two years older than him, however, they’d dropped out after their sophomore year to open a retail shop selling joke and novelty items. They quickly realized they were more interested in conducting their own research and development; manufacturing their own products to distribute and sell. It was certainly more profitable. In order to get the seed money, they returned to college after two years. Their schooling, like Ron’s, was financed by his Aunt Muriel and upon receiving their bachelors degree, Muriel also handed over a $20,000 cash gift. The crotchety old broad put a lot of value on their schooling.

“And little Ronniekins is going to spend his on a girl,” Fred teased. It was then that he noticed Fred was fiddling with the small gray ring box that had previously been hidden in Ron’s sock drawer. He moved to snatch it back but Fred tossed it across the room to George.

Ron frowned. “First, I’m not spending it all on a girl. Part of it will be for the wedding and the rest I’ll save for a down payment on a house. Maybe not in Boston because we may not stay there after she finishes law school.”

“Oh yes, Bah-stan,” George mocked in a truly terrible accent.

“Yes. She’s sure that it’ll happen. She’s a legacy or something like that. I hope so because I think Boston Beer Company is going to make me an offer.”

“Free Sam Adams? I’ll take it,” Fred nodded.

“Secondly,” said Ron. “She’s not just a girl.”

The twins groaned. “Ugh, Ronnie, there’s no free beer yet. I can’t listen to this sober.”

Ron rolled his eyes.

“I have to ask,” started George. “Are you sure about this? You’re so young and it hasn’t been that long. You could still go to Boston with her without getting engaged.”

While it was annoying to get another “you’re too young” speech, it wasn’t often that his brothers asked him a serious question. “I’m sure. She’s the one.”

“Well then,” said George, flipping the box to him. “Go get her.”

A few hours later, he was shifting nervously in his seat at their table at Chaudron Qui Fuitfont, playing with the same gray ring box in his pocket. The dinner course had been cleared and they were now waiting for dessert to arrive as well as the bottle of champagne he’d surreptitiously requested.

“Astoria, have I told you that you look absolutely breathtaking tonight?”

“Just three or four times,” she laughed.

“Well, I might tell you a few more,” Ron said.

“It’s not everyday that you put so much effort into a date. I had to deliver on my side as well,” Astoria replied.

“It’s appreciated,” Ron smiled. “I-I appreciate everything about you. How gorgeous you are, how driven… the past 18 months with you has really made me sit down and focus on what I want for my future, you know?”

“That’s great, Ron,” Astoria said, reaching across the table to give his hand a squeeze. She glanced around him. “I want another glass of Merlot.”

“Yeah. You know I’m in the final stages for jobs at three companies,” he said.

“Mmm,” she said distractedly.

“Including Boston Beer Company,” he added.

“That’s a reputable company. Although make sure the job isn’t on the Truly brand. They’ll never get the market from White Claw. Mark my words, they’ll fizzle in two years.”

“Astoria, I see my future with you.”

She looked up at him sharply. “What?”

“Yes. I love you. I’m ready to start the next stage of our relationship. Astoria - ” Ron stood up, pulling the ring box out.

“No.”

“Will you marry me?” Ron asked, kneeling next to her.

“No, now get up.”

Ron’s blood suddenly ran cold. “Wha-what?”

“I said, no, now sit down.” He numbly followed her direction.

“Ron,” Astoria sighed. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”

“But… why?”

Astoria gave him a pitying look. “Look, we have had so much fun. You’re a great guy.”

“Great guy? You told me you loved me,” he hissed, trying to keep his voice low to avoid more embarrassment.

“And I do. As a college boyfriend. You are a great college boyfriend. You’re president of the second best fraternity on campus so you get all the best party invites. You’re on the cross country team so I can tell everyone I’m dating a Division I athlete, but you aren’t in one of those sports where it like, takes up all your time. You had a cool internship, everybody on campus loves you because you volunteer and help and you’re nice to everyone, even the janitors. You’re sweet and you’ve got a great body and you… you know,” she dropped her voice now “always deliver on what’s promised. You’ve been the perfect person to spend the last few semesters with.”

“I… I don’t understand what the problem is. I sound great from what you’re saying,” Ron seethed, frustration clear in his tone.

“I need a man for the next part of my life. Not a frat boy, not even if he doesn’t exactly fit the stereotype. I’m going to Harvard Law School in the fall. Do you understand how big of a deal that is?”

“Yes! That’s why I am pursuing a job in Boston. To be with you.”

“At a beer company.”

“I’m not opening a bar with my buddies. It’s a research and development role at a major corporation!”

“You have a degree in food science,” Astoria replied, rolling her eyes.

“It’s not like we spend all our time eating. It’s a real field. I got an A in Organic Chemistry.”

“Org Chem with Murphy. The serious students take it with Professor Kettle.”

Ron just gaped at her.

“If I’m going to be a federal judge by the time I’m 40, I need to stop dicking around. And I’m sorry, you’re not a Marty Ginsberg.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not an Armie Hammer either. Feels like there’s some wiggle room between those two extremes.”

“You’re a great guy. And I’m sure you’ll be a great husband to a marketing specialist or a pharmaceutical sales rep. And maybe if I was going to go to Wayne State or Northwestern, things would be different. But this is Harvard Law. There are just… expectations that any potential spouse meet a certain intellectual bar. Or at least a social bar. I mean, my sister is engaged to a Kennedy!”

At that point, the waiter approached the table with their desserts. Astoria stood up. “I’m really sorry. I’ll just call an Uber.” She paused and kissed him on the cheek before exiting the dining room.

“Uh, should I wrap these to go?” asked the waiter as Ron watched Astoria leave.

[mlm-writer]

Push and Pull (John Kennex x GN!Reader)

Pairing: John Kennex  x Gender Neutral Reader  Rating: PG-13 for swearing  Words: 2143 Summary: John has been distant ever since you started dating. You’ve tried to endure it in the hopes of it getting better, but, unfortunately, communication seems necessary to solve problems. John does not like to talk about his feelings tho.  Tags: Angst, relationship problems, hurt/comfort, insecurities, John’s puppy eyes, swearing, reference to violence, beta read at 2am, reader is thirsty af at one point but look at this man do we blame the reader? 

“Professor.” You looked away from the screen you have been doing data analyses at. The last of your fellow forensic scientists stood at the door with her coat on. “I cleaned up as much as I could. Please don’t forget to go home yourself.” You smiled at her and reassured her you would go home before midnight. The look in her eyes made the same inquiry as most of your colleagues had, but she did not ask why you were working so much.

At this point you did not even write down the extra hours, afraid that some MX might kick you out by five if you did. Your notes started to get sloppy, but you felt like it was worth it when you heard a knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer, it opened and your boyfriend stepped inside. “Hey, have you eaten yet?” You shook your head and frantically opened the file with your notes. 

“No, but I have some interesting findings about the samples from your case this morning.” It sent you down a rabbit hole of connecting dots and by the time you started mentally dozing off, you were so close to a breakthrough. Frustration filled your body as you tried to force your brain to have just one more useful thought. 

A kiss landed on your temple. “Let’s continue tomorrow. I am tired and hungry.” You let out a sleepy chuckle as you closed up for today. You kept a professional distance from John as you both exited the building in silence and walked towards the car. The moment you sat down, you started napping for just those few minutes you knew it took to get to John’s favourite noodle place. 

A soft shake woke you from your dreamless slumber. “Hey, you’ve been working too hard lately.” You scoffed and brushed it off. You knew, but you felt like John had been distancing himself ever since you two were officially a thing. Before that he was always more open and vulnerable around you than with other people, but now you felt like he was more open towards anyone but you. The only way to get him to let loose, was to work on a case with him, so you gave that little extra to spend more time with him as soon and as much as possible. 

“You must be really tired. Usually, you chat the ears off my head.” You looked up from your bowl of steaming noodles and forced a smile on your face. 

“Well, I guess working more makes me better company then,” you replied without thinking about it. You did not notice the shocked look on your boyfriend’s face, until he put a hand on your wrist. 

“I like it when you chat my ears off my head, so get some more rest, ok? You don’t have to do everything on your own. Just let your colleagues help you more.” You pull your hand away, pouting as you continue eating. 

The idea of someone else talking John through the evidence fuelled a jealousy that had been vestering in your chest for weeks now. “Take me home with you tomorrow.” John choked on his noodles. Heads turned towards him as he coughed and reached for his beer. He chugged half of it before looking at you again like he misheard you. “You heard me. We need to talk and I am too tired right now.” 

John was quiet for a moment. The air was tense as you two ate. Your bowl was close to empty when you heard his voice again. “If you want to break up with me, you can just say it now.” His voice was small and if you were not so overworked, tired and frustrated, you would have hugged him and reassured him that you loved him so much and that breaking up was the opposite of what you wanted. However, you were overworked, tired and frustrated, so that was not happening. 

You slammed your spoon into the bowl and stood up. “If you never wanted to be in a relationship with me in the first place, then you should just have said no when I asked you to be my boyfriend,” you gritted through your teeth to make as less of a scene as possible. “I’m gonna take a cab home.” Something inside you hoped he would come after you, like men did in movies, but your name stayed uncalled as you waited in the cold night air for a cab to pass you by. 

The next day, your head was even less in the game. You kept making typos, to the point someone gently suggested you took a break. Their tone betrayed how foul your mood had been and you caved. It was getting better, until a familiar face joined you. “There you are, professor,” he said upon arrival, putting way too much emphasis on ‘professor’, “I was hoping you could fill me on your findings on yesterday’s evidence.” You did not like his tone at all. Your eyes almost rolled out of their sockets as you stood up and walked past him. He followed you to your desk, keeping more distance than he usually would. 

“Here,” you hissed as you pushed the file folder into his hands, “your culprit is sprinkling Marigold pollen around like Hansel and Gretel. Dorian knows how to scan for it. You’ll have them by lunch.” You gave him a passive aggressive pat on the arm, before hopping off your desk and walking away. You caught a scrutinizing gaze from your boyfriend, but you pulled an uno reverse card on that. Maybe you were being immature, but you were convinced you had enough reason to. 

If you were not still angry at John, you would’ve thought him dragging the suspect into the precinct before lunch was really hot. You still thought it was hot, but you were too angry to admit that to yourself. You bit the inside of your cheek when you saw him sit the suspect down by force, before turning the glass translucent, blurring the inside. 

On the plus side, having a case finished so easily with little issues, put John in a good mood. You were calmed down as well by the time it was time to clock out. You got a message at two past five. It was from John, asking you to have Chinese take-out at his place tonight. You shot him a message back, something long enough to show him you were in a better mood than that morning. 

While getting the food, it was easy to slip into conversation about the case he solved today. Work-talk turned into reminiscing, talking about people, laughing a little. However, when the door of his apartment closed behind you, it felt so cut-off from the rest of the world and the air between you became thick with the masks you both have the tendency to put on in public. Eating the food had gotten way more awkward than getting the food. With no one to convince you were two happily dating adults, there was uncertainty of how much you had to fool yourselves everything was fine. 

Both of you knew there was need for serious talk, for heart-to-heart conversations about something other than work. “When the captain found out about us,” you started out of nowhere, because it had to start somehow, “she told me to be patient with you, because you had some bad experiences with your ex.” You could see tension growing in his shoulders. “John, we’ve been dating for three months now. Don’t you think it is time you tell me at least a little about your ex? I don’t need the details, but…”

“No.”

You had not even finished speaking. John was already standing up and gathering the dirty plates, turning his back towards you to toss them in the sink. “Why?” You put your hands on your hips, hoping for a very good answer. 

“What happened with her is none of your business,” he grunted as he aggressively started putting everything in the dishwasher, not leaving everything to solidify for once. 

“Well I think it is,” you replied, wanting for him to turn around, but you were not going to beg to see his face. 

“And I think not. What does she have to do with you?”

You walked around the table and stood next to him. Your proximate forced him to at least give you a short glance. Your face was hard, but your voice was fraying at the edges. “Well maybe it will help me understand why you have been such a lousy boyfriend.” You did not mean that, but you felt like you did. 

“I told you yesterday to not keep fucking around if you just want to break up with me,” he replied, not giving in to telling you anything. 

“I do not want to break up with you, but if you’re just gonna prefer talking to anyone but me, what is the point of being in a relationship with you?” You tilted your head, trying to get a look at his face, but you flinched away as he tossed a glass back into the sink with unnecessary force. It was a surprisingly sturdy glass that did not shatter. You backed away, survival instinct winning. John never gave the vibe of someone who would hurt you. He may have been rough in the bedroom, but never angry and to be honest, angry John scared you. 

You swallowed thickly, hoping he would say something, but instead he just tossed the towel lying on the counter across the room. You backed away further, tensing up at the frustrated growl he let out. You never had seen him like this. He was scarier now than when he was yelling at an MX, scarier than when he shot a suspect that returned to the crime scene, scarier than when he came back from the field with bruises and a suspect in a worse state than him. 

“Just say it already,” he roared, “there is no point of being with me, so just end it!” Your heart hammered in your chest, but you heard his desperation. He seemed angry, but his voice betrayed the direction of his anger was not you, but himself. 

“End it yourself if you want us to break up so bad,” you replied, sounding more angry than you meant to, voice raised in defence.

“I don’t want to!”

“Then what the fuck is your problem?”

“I’m scared!”

He looked up with horror on his face, seemingly shocked by his own words. “Goddammit, I’m a mess,” he nearly inaudibly muttered as he walked over to the couch with limp limbs. You crossed your arms, looking at him as you stayed in place. John was never keen on talking, but your silence forced him to. “My ex… she stabbed me in the back,” he admitted, but the sentence did not sound like it was finished. 

“And now you’re scared I will too, so the moment we get together you get cold feet about how much you can trust me?” He did not nod or hum, but the defensive posture was confirmation enough. “Well… I passed the background check when I joined the force.” He let out a bitter chuckle, before looking at you. He held his hand out for you with puppy eyes you could not resist. You sighed and walked over. “I assume it was more than cheating?” You asked, trying to be direct without being overly specific. Your fingers touched his rough hand and he took a firm grasp of yours. He pulled, but let you sit down next to him on your own terms. 

“Oh I wish she cheated,” he tried to joke, but his tone lacked humor. John’s thumb rubbed over your hands as you sat next to each other, distance between you, bridged by your intertwined hands. “It’s not easy to explain,” he said as his eyes stayed on the connection between you two, “but I will, someday.” He looked up to you with those same puppy eyes. “Just give me time, yeah?”

You sighed, hating yourself for being such a sucker for those eyes. “Just stop avoiding me at work. I’ve been working on your cases so you would talk to me.” 

He laughed. “For real?” You felt a little stupid, but nodded anyway. “Oh.” He swallowed down another laugh. “Then I’ll try to talk to you more often, so go home earlier, sleep more and eat well.” He patted your head, a soft smile on his face. 

“Hey, those are three things in exchange for one thing. I don’t think that’s fair.” You saw the edges of his mouth tug up against his will. 

“Ok fine, what other demands do you have?” He questioned, humor returning.

[nikibogwater]

The City Never Sleeps--a Tales of Arcadia fanfiction

“Moving to New York City is no easy task, and Douxie's been burning the candle at both ends for the past month in order to make ends meet. Fortunately, he has a family waiting for him every night when he comes home.”

Special thanks to @poetryinmotion-author for beta reading and providing me with the title!

So yes, this is my coping mechanism after the emotional trauma of Wizards. A little Found Family fluff to ease my screaming soul. Read on AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25830517

Or under the cut:

Why the hell was living in New York City so expensive?

Douxie had started this latest venture with at least some optimism. Protect the tiny sorceress and keep an eye out for any suspicious magical activity that could point to the return of the Arcane Order, all while remaining as inconspicuous as possible. It wasn’t that different from what he’d been doing for the last nine-hundred years. 

Except for the damn cost of living. 

Arcadia Oaks hadn’t exactly been low-rent either, but at least he’d been able to manage by juggling two part-time jobs and occasionally passing himself off as a streetside fortune teller (humiliating as that was) whenever finances got particularly tight. He’d had plenty of time to do his nightly patrols of the streets, chase down any rogue magical creatures, set new stasis traps, and be home in time to microwave dinner and pass out on his sofa-bed for seven hours before the routine began again the next morning. But New York City was a different monster. 

He’d chosen this place for a few very good reasons. First, it was on the other side of the continent from Arcadia. Provided he’d covered their tracks right, the Arcane Order would have to scour any number of miles of the country before they could even begin to narrow down his position here. Second, the presence of magic in New York City was borderline undetectable. The area was so choked with noise, pollution, traffic, and people that picking out a magical signature from the chaos would be practically impossible. Third, (and perhaps this was the weakest reason, if he was being honest with himself) he had never been there before. Douxie had done some traveling in his centuries-long life, but somehow New York City had never ended up on his itinerary. If he was going to be immortal, he wanted to make the most of it and see the big sights. Up until now, he’d been stuck in Arcadia, trying to keep an eye on the magical stirrings there (and fuzzbuckets, there were a lot of them). Once he was free to go where he pleased, of course he was going to pick somewhere he genuinely wanted to be. 

At least two of those reasons had been good ones, but that didn’t change the fact that paying for a studio apartment in New York City and feeding himself, Archie, and occasionally Nari (she only ate on days when she could not simply absorb energy from the sun) with no high-demand career skills to speak of was a herculean task. He’d had to take on three minimum-wage jobs just to make ends meet, and sleep? Well, he counted himself lucky if he got four hours in a single night. 

Which landed him here, stumbling up to the door of their ramshackle apartment, fiddling with an ordinary keyring in order to keep up appearances should anybody walk by while he undid the twelve magical seals he had placed when he left this morning. He let himself in with a groan, slammed the door behind him, and somehow dredged up enough energy to replace the seals before he slid to the floor, utterly spent. What time was it? He’d gotten off work at 1:30, right? Or was he mixing up tonight with last night? Wait, was today Thursday or Friday? Fuzzbuckets, he could barely string two thoughts together in his head. He groaned again and pressed his fists against his bloodshot eyes. It was pitch black inside the apartment, and the only sound came from the small heating unit in the corner. 

But he wasn’t alone. He felt a familiar form brush against his folded legs, and heard Archie’s welcoming purr close to him. Douxie sighed and blindly reached out, groping for a moment before his Familiar pressed his furry head against his waiting fingers. 

“Did anything happen t’day?” Douxie slurred quietly. At this point, Archie no longer needed him to specify “anything magic related that could potentially be dangerous.” 

“Nothing. All clear,” the cat told him, stepping into his lap. “Though I can’t say the same for you. I haven’t seen such a breakout since the fifteenth century.” 

“What?” Douxie raised a hand to his face and felt his cheek, which was peppered with tiny red bumps. “Fuzzbuckets,” he moaned, letting his hand fall. “Think it’s the stress. I don’t remember the last time I slept through the night.” There were a few minutes of silence as Douxie stroked his friend’s fur, knowing he should move to his mattress in the corner, but too exhausted to care if he just passed out here. 

“Douxie?” 

His eyes slid open as he heard a small voice at his side (when had his eyes closed?) and saw Nari crouched beside him. She was wearing one of his old t-shirts, which was comically large on her tiny frame, and a part of him suddenly wished he could afford to buy her nicer clothes. He was her guardian now, he should at least be able to provide her with that. Then again, she had spent most of her considerably long life wearing enchanted armor from the Eternal Forest, so maybe she didn’t care about not having brand-name PJs. Right now, her eyes were sweeping over his face critically, her brow pinching with worry. Oh right, she was probably waiting for him to say something. 

“H’llo,” he mumbled, his eyes closing again. 

“Your aura is so weak,” Nari whispered, her hand coming to rest on his chest above his heart, where she could feel his magic give a pitiful, fluttering pulse beneath her fingers. “You are pushing yourself too far.” There was an element of reproach in her soft voice.

“Got no choice,” Douxie replied. “Have to keep you safe.” He heard her take in a sharp breath as though he had struck her. His lids flew open and he saw her fiddling with her hands and looking ashamed. “I....I didn’t mean...” He forced himself to sit up, pausing for a moment when his vision swam and his brain flopped around his skull like a dying Nyarlagroth. “Nari, this isn’t your fault. I just....It’s hard to make ends meet, that’s all.”

“You came here because of me,” she argued quietly, still refusing to look at him. “Because you thought I would be safe here.”

“I....Yeah. But it’s not your fault the rent’s so high. ‘M fine, I just need to sleep.” He shooed Archie off his lap and somehow managed to get to his feet, though the world spun around him and his knees wobbled like jello. Nari reached out to help him, but he ignored her offer (it wasn’t like she could provide much support, seeing as she only came up to his waist), and stumbled over to the mattress on the floor in the corner, falling onto it with a rough sigh. 

“Your shoes are still on,” Archie informed him, coming to sit by his head. Douxie hummed noncommittally and did nothing. A moment later, he felt Nari untangling the laces of his hightops and sliding them off of his feet. Archie curled up in the crook of his shoulder, his purring filling the wizard’s ears and silencing his disjointed thoughts. Nari draped a blanket over him, pausing for a moment to rest her small hand on top of his uncombed hair. He felt her thumb rub a few circles against his scalp before she pulled away and stood up to return to her own bed on the other side of the room. Douxie was asleep before she’d even crossed the floor. 

*****

Douxie found his eyes opening twenty minutes before his phone alarm was set to go off. He felt oddly rejuvenated for someone who had worked himself to the bone yesterday and only fallen into bed at quarter past two. He double checked the time on his phone, wondering if he’d somehow slept through his alarm. 6:13 am. He rolled out of bed, careful not to disturb Archie, who was sprawled out next to him, paws twitching as he dreamed. He glanced over at Nari, who was barely visible within a tightly-wound cocoon of blankets, her antlers the only easily distinguishable part of her. He could sense her aura, but it was dim, and scarcely pulsing, which meant she was quite sound asleep. Satisfied with the knowledge that his family was comfortable and at peace for the moment, he slipped out onto the tiny balcony, shivering as the cold embraced him. He left the door ajar a few inches in case Archie woke up and decided to join him, and zipped up his rumpled hoodie, before casting a glance around him.

The sky was a silvery grey, and he knew that the sun was peeking over the horizon at his back. The balcony faced west, and had a less-than-stunning view of a dank alleyway. It was barely wide enough for three people, and nearly half of it was occupied by Nari’s rapidly growing collection of houseplants and herbs. Douxie sat on the floor, crossing his legs beneath him, and leaned back against the brick wall of the apartment building. He gazed up at the slowly lightening sky, mind curiously blank, though not for want of energy. There was something about the stillness of the early morning that put him in a state of silence. Almost as though he were listening for something. 

Or someone. 

His heart twisted sharply in his chest, and for once, he let himself acknowledge it. He’d spent many early mornings like this in Camelot, perched on a battlement, watching the sunrise, waiting for the sound of his master calling him to his chores. Back then, he had dreaded hearing Merlin’s voice, knowing that it would be the end of the brief momentary peace he had carved for himself from the stillness of the morning. But now....Now he’d give anything to hear his master calling his name again. 

Something pressed up against his knee, and he looked down to find Archie’s bespectacled gaze meeting his own. Without a word, Douxie opened his arms and let his Familiar settle into place on his lap. Douxie wrapped him up in his arms, clinging to his presence, suddenly acutely aware of how much his heart was aching, and Archie purred in understanding. The cat was warm against his chest, a physical reminder that although he had lost a great deal these many years, he wasn’t alone.

The door creaked, and Douxie looked up to find a very sleepy-looking Nari stepping out to join them. 

“You’ll catch a cold out here,” Douxie scolded wearily, taking note of her bare arms and legs. She responded with a disinterested hum and rubbed one of her eyes blearily. Douxie sighed and held out an arm to her. She flopped down next to him and curled up against his side, one hand coming to rest above his heart, feeling his magic swirling and pulsing within. 

“Your aura was twisting. You were sad,” she mumbled as he tucked her closer with his arm. 

“...Maybe a little,” Douxie admitted. “I didn’t think you could feel that in your sleep.” 

“Never try to hide anything from an ancient sorceress,” Archie advised from his place on Douxie’s lap. “Especially one who likes you.” Douxie breathed a quiet chuckle and gave his Familiar a scratch behind the ears. There was a moment of companionable silence between the three of them. 

“...You enchanted my sleep, didn’t you?” Douxie said suddenly, looking down at Nari. She shifted, almost guiltily, and nodded. 

“She does that several times a week, actually,” Archie put in. Nari opened her eyes long enough to send him the most resentful glare she could muster. 

“Tattletale,” she muttered. The cat merely shrugged. 

“...Thank you,” Douxie murmured. “I don’t think I could’ve survived this past month without either of you.” 

“We’re going to be okay, Douxie,” Nari said through a yawn. “I believe in you. You’ll find a better job soon, and the Order will never find us.”

“You think?” Douxie asked lightly. The wood nymph nodded sleepily against his chest. “Well, I suppose there’s no arguing with you, is there?” He squeezed her shoulder fondly. 

“You argue with me all the time,” Archie pointed out, turning a few circles and settling more comfortably on Douxie’s crossed legs. “If I were any less gracious, I might accuse you of playing favorites.” 

“Oh, I do play favorites, Archie. You’re my favorite person to argue with.” Archie huffed and flicked his tail, but Douxie knew he was smiling without having to look. 

The mage held his small family close, staring up at the sky that was turning more blue with every passing minute, no longer feeling the pervading chill. He couldn’t say what the future would bring. He couldn’t promise that everything would work out. But he did know, beyond the slightest shadow of a doubt, that he would fight to save the world a hundred times over, work himself until he was nothing but skin and bone,  if it meant he could have more moments like this. 

[thing-you-do-with-that-thing]

Turning Into Butter

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader (sorta)

Warnings: None really. Embarrassed reader and an almost naked Dean if that counts.

Squares Filled: Caught red-handed for @spnfluffbingo​

Word Count: 823

A/N: This is my entry for @spnfanficpond​ unfic challenge. My prompt was “I think I accidentally made butter.”

Betaed by: no one - all mistakes are mine

***My fics are not to be saved nor posted on any other sites without my express written permission.***

You were humming to yourself as you roamed the Bunker kitchen. It was your favorite room in the place. It felt like a real home and family. You smiled to yourself when you thought of Dean and how he had said you were the reason it did. It wasn’t true though. Everyone made it feel like home. It was the place everyone came to relax when they still wanted the company of others. Even Cas who didn’t really need the room or the food it held. 

This morning Sam and Eileen were at the table, sitting close together, giggling at something. You smiled, when you saw them together like that. They deserved to be happy and they looked so sweet together. 

“What are you making?” Sam asked when your eyes met and he smiled at you.

“Another pie,” Eileen deadpanned, rolling her eyes lovingly and sending you a teasing smile as you blushed looking down. 

“I found this new recipe I wanted to try that’s all,” you argued without looking up but choosing to focus on the dough you were rolling. You pretended you didn’t see the look the two of them shared when you turned around to put the crust into the oven.

“So which one are you making him this time?” Sam teased as you returned to the kitchen counter. You poked your tongue out at him. 

You had known the brothers for a long time and Sam had become like a brother to you. Dean, on the other hand, had become something else. Especially since you had moved into the Bunker about a year ago. He was sweet, attentive and flirty. But that was just who he was. You were sure he didn’t see you the way you saw him. Still, you loved making him smile and the hugs he would give you whenever you made pie was well worth all the hours you spent in the kitchen lately.  

“Banana Cream. But it’s not for him. It’s for all of us,” you argued, pouting when Sam laughed. 

“Right,” Sam and Eileen spoke as one causing you to huff and pout as you returned to make the vanilla cream.

How you felt about Dean was the worst kept secret ever. Everyone knew. Sam, Eileen, Donna, Jody… even Cas knew. The only one oblivious to the fact you had fallen head over heels in love with the older Winchester was Dean himself. You thanked your lucky star for that at least. The last thing you wanted, was for things to be awkward between the two of you. 

“SAM!” Dean’s voice echoed from down the hall and your eyes widened, looking up at the younger Winchester again. 

“What did you do?” you asked, but Sam just shrugged, turning to face the door where a very angry Dean appeared. His hair was green which was probably what anyone would notice first but not you. 

Dean was naked. Or as good as. He had a towel tied around his hips but the rest of him was bare, wet and right in front of you. You completely froze and you couldn’t help but stare at the man in front of you. You didn’t even really hear Sam and Dean’s argument. It had something to do with Dean stealing Sam’s shampoo and Sam having dosed it with green hair dye as revenge. You didn’t really care. Not when Dean was naked right in front of you in the middle of the kitchen. 

You followed the drops of water as they traveled from his broad shoulders down his chest, to his narrow waist. You blushed brightly as you saw it take the path of his v line and disappear into the towel. 

Luckily for you, Dean didn’t see, before he rushed back out of the kitchen promising his brother he was going to regret this. Eileen however had. She hadn’t bothered trying to follow the brothers’ current argument, instead, she had moved across the room and was now standing next to you, looking down into your bowl as she gently put a hand on your arm. 

“Erhm. Y/N. I think the cream is done,” she spoke, clearly trying not to start laughing. 

Her voice brought you back to reality and you finally looked down at what you were doing. The cream you had been whipping was completely stiff and you quickly turned off the mixer. 

“Crap!” you swore and Eileen started laughing, calling Sam’s attention back to the two of you. 

“What?” Sam frowned. 

You sighed deeply, holding up the bowl so Sam could see it. No use in trying to hide your stupidity now that Eileen had seen it anyway. 

“I think I accidentally made butter.” 

Sam threw his head back laughing as Eileen threw her arms around you hugging you sideways as you hung your head. 

“Just tell him,” Eileen prompted, laughing as you groaned in frustration and threw the vanilla cream butter into the trash. 

Reblogs spread my work and make me happy. Got a favorite part/line? Did something touch you? Do you relate in some way? Please tell me and make my day. 

Dean Tag Team

 @slowlywithfreedom​ @flamencodiva​ @deansgirl215​ @atc74​ @winecatsandpizza​ @blackcherrywhiskey​ @feelmyroarrrr​ @whimsicalrobots​ @torn-and-frayed​ @jadewritings​ @mogaruke​  @wayward-and-worn​ @super100012​ @blacktithe7​ @becs-bunker​ @docharleythegeekqueen​ @smoothdogsgirl​ @ericaprice2008​ @danijimenezv​ @roxyspearing​ @adoptdontshoppets​ @supernatural13-13​ @onethirstyunicorn​ @deanmonandnegansbitch​ @akshi8278​ @miraclesoflove​

[fan-fantasies]

Took You Long Enough

A/N: Guess who no longer has a job because of this virus going around? This gal! I’ve been doing some online freelance work as well but people are nabbing that up right and left so I’m a broke bitch hoping to distract herself by writing fanfiction. -Heather

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of sex, angst

Pairing: Negan x Reader

Masterlist

A/N: this is based off of the latest episode of TWD so don’t read if you don’t want some vague spoilers. I’ve changed it a bit. 

Part Two

You ran behind Aaron, watching in every direction for signs of life, whether it’s one of your people, a whisperer, or a walker. Hilltop was in flames behind you and the group was split up once again. You hated when you were fragmented, not knowing how anyone was doing. You had only just moved to Hilltop from Alexandria a month before. You needed a change of scenery to distract you from your heartbreak. 

You had struck up a secret romance with the infamous Negan. At first, you were in charge of bringing him food and bathing supplies in his cell. He charmed you with almost no effort. It wasn’t until he was allowed out of his cell that things began to progress. You’d often find him in the garden or sitting by himself with a book. 

At first, you admired from afar. You weren’t sure if he’d still want to talk to you outside of his cell. It only took him a day or two to notice you watching. He caught you red handed, staring at him from the laundry lines. He gave you his signature smirk as he strutted over you. 

“Like what you see, sugar?” He asked. You looked down at your feet and stuttered. 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, Negan. I was just admiring the tomatoes,” you lied. 

“My tomatoes, huh?” He chuckled. “Why don’t you come keep me company while I garden? Get an up close and personal look at the... tomatoes.” 

“Really?” You asked, surprised. He nodded and took your hand, guiding you back to the garden. 

At first, you’d just watch as he worked in the dirt and weeds. After a while he was showing you what to pull and how to get the plants to grow better. You learned a lot about him in a short amount of time and your feelings for him grew faster than the plants did. 

Eventually you were sneaking him out of his cell at night to join you for walks in the moonlight. He’d joke about how cheesy it was but you knew that he secretly loved it, and maybe he even loved you. It wasn’t long before your relationship became sexual and you didn’t think you’d be able to be with any man after Negan. He used your body in ways you didn’t think possible and you could see why he was so cocky. 

So it came as a surprise to you when you were left alone one night, waiting at your usual meeting spot. You had left Negan’s cell unlocked after bringing him his dinner so he could just come and meet you. You waited for an hour and finally decided to go get him, maybe he had fallen asleep. When you arrived at his cell you found it empty. Your heart fell into the pit of your stomach and your blood ran cold. 

You ran around the town looking for him but found him nowhere. You alerted some others that he had escaped and they formed a search party. Eventually everyone gave up and assumed that he had joined Alpha. 

You were devastated but you couldn’t show it. Eventually the thought of the betrayal was too much for you so you took off to Hilltop. 

That was a month ago now and you had bigger things to worry about. You and Aaron came up to a rundown shack and you heard walkers closing in on you. What you weren’t prepared for, however, was seeing Negan run out from behind the shack with a whisperer mask on his face. He froze when he saw the two of you. Aaron was ready to attack but had to decide whether the walkers were more of an imminent threat. 

Negan’s eyes never left yours, not until Aaron finally spoke. 

“Negan, don’t run!” He yelled. 

“It’s not what you think,” he spoke. You knew it was directed at you but Aaron was none the wiser. 

“Negan!” Aaron yelled one more time before the walkers closed in around Negan, passing him and heading straight for you. You and Aaron had to take them out as you watched Negan run off. You were left more broken than before. 

You eventually killed the walkers and found Carol’s splintered group. You all made your way to the rendezvous point but stopped to make camp for the night. When everyone was sleeping, you noticed Carol wandering off. She was supposed to have first watch so you decided to follow her. 

You hid behind a tree and watched as she stood in the moonlight. You heard footsteps headed toward you and your heart began to race. You just about fainted when you saw Negan step up to Carol with a bloody bag in his hand. 

“Took you long enough,” Carol scoffed. 

“Hey, at least I got it done,” he snapped. 

“But at what cost?” Carol sighed. 

“I had to get close to her. She needed to trust me. I tried to get her to spare the town but she twisted what I said into her own sick plan.” He said. He sounded genuinely upset about what had happened. They continued to discuss the details and everything began to fall together. You didn’t know what was going to happen moving forward. Would people accept Negan back with open arms or would Carol be pushed out of the group for what she did? 

“How did you get her to trust you exactly? Beta won’t let anyone close to her.” Carol asked. 

“I had to offer her something Beta couldn’t, if you know what I mean.” Negan winked and Carol grimaced. 

“Ew,” she said. You felt like you were going to be sick. If he could fuck Alpha then he could fuck anyone for any reason. You knew he had more to offer than sex but that’s what he went with anyone because it’s meaningless for him. You were an idiot for thinking that you were something more. 

Your mind was reeling with too many thoughts and you needed some space to think. You tried to sneak away but stepped on a stick in the process, alerting Carol and Negan to your presence. 

“It’s just me,” you announced. You stepped toward the pair and Negan’s face fell. 

“What are you doing out here?” Carol asked. 

“I saw you sneaking away and thought it’d be best to follow you,” you told her. 

“This was necessary. There was no other way to take Alpha down,” she said. 

“Is that what you’re going to tell everyone? You have a tough road ahead of you trying to explain yourself, both of you.” You began to turn away but Carol grabbed your arm.

“Where are you going?” She asked. 

“I’m going ahead to the rendezvous point. I’ll wait there for everyone.” You yanked your arm away from her and turned again. You ignored her and Negan’s protests about going alone in the dark. You were adamant about getting away from them but your efforts were halted when Negan picked your up and threw you over his shoulder. 

“Negan, what the fuck?” You snapped. “Put me down.” 

“No. We need to talk and you aren’t going anywhere alone.” He ignored the pounding of your fists against his back. 

“Well I’m not going anywhere with you.” 

“Stop being so dramatic,” he sighed. He finally set you down when you reached a small stream. “Sit.” He pointed to a large rock. 

“I’m fine standing, thank you.” He threw his hands up in defeat and sat on the rock instead. “I want you to understand that what I did had to happen and I did it for you.” 

“How the fuck was all of this for my benefit?” 

“You’re safer now that Alpha is gone,” he said. 

“Yeah, after burning down an entire community, Negan! Was that safer for me?” You yelled and got closer to him. 

“I didn’t know you were there! I thought you’d still be in Alexandria!” 

“But you were okay with killing everyone else at Hilltop though? You’re fucked up, Negan!” 

“I know. I know that I’m a monster but I was a monster with a purpose. And that purpose was, and always will be, to keep you safe.” He reached out for you but you backed away. 

“Don’t you dare touch me! You’ll never touch me again after touching her!” His face dropped and you knew he had no excuse. “I’m not your responsibility. From here on out, don’t worry about me. Don’t speak to me. Don’t look at me. Don’t even think about me.” Your voice shook as you spoke but it had to be said. 

“You don’t mean that, sugar.” Negan got off the rock and stood in front of you. “You know that we had something. I had to protect that. And I’ll admit, I had to do some things that I’m not proud of, but I think that I’m in love with you, goddammit. And I’d do it all over again to know that you’re alive and well. She meant nothing to me. I did what I had to do.” 

“You’re full of shit. You ran off without telling me so much as goodbye and did god only knows what out there with those freaks. Obviously whatever we had meant nothing, if it had you wouldn’t have been able to leave so easily. Now it’s my turn to leave.” You turned to leave but he enclosed you in his arms. 

“You love me and we both know it,” he growled in your ear. 

“When has someone loving you ever mattered before?” You asked. You knew it was a low blow but you knew it would work. His arms fell to his side and silence filled the air. “That’s what I thought.” 

“Sugar, please,” he whispered. You ignored him and walked back in the direction of the rendezvous point. Negan didn’t bother to follow you and part of you was wishing that he did. You didn’t know what was going to happen going forward, but you knew things could never go back to the way that they were. 

--------------------------------------------

Taglist:

Permanent for all: @lokilvrr @m-a-t-91 @blueeyedbesson

[thebluesideofmyworld]

House Key - A Solangelo One-Shot

Summary: Nico moved into a new apartment. Will helped him settle down in the new place. And deep down inside, Will wanted to make the apartment a home for Nico.

Word Count: 3200 | Read on AO3

***

My contribution to @solangeloweek for the Solangelo Spring Ball 2020. My date for the event is @pjozz​ who has created TWO gorgeous moodboard for this fic (moodboard 1| moodboard 2) (go check her blog, she makes awesome stuff!)

Author’s Notes: - A gazillion thanks for the wonderful Eaf who has helped me to beta this work. - Based on the song House Key by Scott Helman. Title is also from that song.

***

“This is the last one,” Will said as he put the box that he was carrying down on the floor. He stood up, straightened his back and looked around. A few feet away from him, Nico was sitting on the floor, taking some stuff out from one of the boxes.

Nico snorted. “You said that as if I had hundreds of boxes.”

“I can’t believe that you could pack your whole life in just a few boxes,” Will sighed. He made his way to the couch and threw himself there. It wasn’t exactly new. The brown couch was a hand-down from Piper, but it was comfortable enough. Will shifted, half-laying on the couch with his back against the armrest.

“Come here and give me a hug, babe,” Will called out to Nico. Nico turned his head to look at Will. He rolled his eyes but as Will widely opened his arms, there was a small fond smile on his lips. Nico stood up and made a beeline to come to Will. He lay down on the couch and snuggled up against Will. Will started playing with the soft dark strands of Nico’s hair.

“How are you feeling, love? Excited?”

Nico hummed his answer. “I can’t believe I finally have my own place.”

“Well, you practically had Cabin 13 to yourself…”

Nico huffed. “Yeah. But it’s different, you know?”

Will smiled and kissed the top of Nico’s head. He hummed and let Nico continue.

“This is the first time I’m, like…deciding everything by myself. Like, really owning something for myself.”

“And how do you feel about it?”

Nico huffed. It took a moment before he answered, like he was considering his answers. “Excited. Scared. Nervous. Happy,” he shrugged his shoulders. “All at the same time. I feel like I am still too young to do this, but at the same time I also feel like, hey, I am a real adult now.”

“Oh, wow. I can’t believe that the Ghost King could have so many emotions at once,” Will teased.

Nico groaned and punched Will on the shoulder. Will laughed and caught Nico’s wrist. He brought Nico’s hand to his lips, and kissed the knuckles.

“You’ll be fine, darling,” Will said. “It’s not going to be easy. Living in your apartment, doing your classes, but you’ll be fine.”

Last year Nico managed to earn his GED certificate, and then he decided to do a degree in Social Work. For now, he was still doing it part-time, as he was still doing some errands for Hades. And when it was possible, he opted for classes that he could take online. Will knew that Nico still needed some time to adapt to the way formal education worked. Will himself was already in his third year of his undergrad when Nico started doing the degree. Will was doing Biochemistry and going for a pre-med track. Classes were hard, but Will enjoyed doing it, as he had always wanted to be a doctor. And he was glad to see that Nico seemed to be really interested in the field that he was studying now.

Nico hummed. “Anyway, what time is it now?” Nico asked as he moved, trying to find a more comfortable position against Will’s chest.

Will shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Late, I guess?”

Nico stayed quiet for a moment. But then he asked another question.

“Do you…have to go back to your dorm now?”

With Nico’s warm cheek against his chest, Will couldn’t see Nico’s expression. But the years that they had spent together made it easy for him to recognize the hesitation that laced Nico’s voice.

Will rubbed Nico’s arm. “I don’t have any classes anyway tomorrow.”

“Oh?”

Will hummed. “And it’s already too cold for me to go outside now.”

Nico shifted so now he faced Will. “It’s not that cold, Will,” he said. But there was a look of relief in his eyes. Will chuckled, and flipped Nico’s nose.

“It is,” he said. “And to be honest, I don’t think I want to leave you alone right now. It looks like you need some warmth to help you getting through your first night in this apartment.”

Nico opened his mouth, like he was about to say something. But Will put his finger over his lips, stopping him from saying anything.

“I’ll stay for the night. I am pretty sure that if I go back to my dorm, I will end up calling you anyway, making sure that everything’s okay with you.”

There was a small smile on Nico’s lips. “Thanks, Will,” he whispered. Will smiled back, and leaned down to kiss Nico’s forehead.

One day, Will thought. One day, the only place where I have to go back to, will be to where Nico is.

***

“I’m coming!”

Will smiled unconsciously when he heard Nico’s voice, followed by the sound of footsteps coming. Then the door swung open, revealing Nico, reading glasses perched over his nose. Will’s smile turned into a grin.

“Will?”

Nico looked a bit surprised as he took off his glasses, and put it on the top of his head. “Hey! I didn’t know you were coming!”

“I got something for you.”

Nico’s eyes widened. “What?”

Instead of answering, Will pulled down the zipper of his jacket, revealing a gray kitten who was comfortably snuggling against him with its eyes closed.

“Here. Take it,” Will said as he half-shoved the cat to Nico. Nico looked dazed, a bit clueless, but he took the small cat anyway and cradled it gently in his arms. The cat opened its eyes and stared at Nico sleepily. The cat purred and appeared to decide that Nico’s hands were as warm as Will’s jacket, as it closed its eyes again. Will watched the expression on Nico’s face change from confusion, to caution, until it turned into amazement along with fondness as the kitten snuggled against his chest.

“I think the cat likes you,” Will said, smiling warmly.

Nico hummed. He lifted the cat up a little and nuzzled its head gently. He earned a soft purr from the cat that made him chuckle.

“Does he have a name?” Nico asked, looking at Will questioningly.

“Shakespeare,” Will answered as he let himself in. He closed the door behind him.

Nico snorted. “That’s a terrible name for a cat,” Nico said as he walked to the living room area. Will was trailing behind him.

“Better than Valdezinator, though.” Will said. Nico let out a small laugh at that.

“Yeah, I can’t argue with that,” he said. He sat down on the couch. He petted the cat gently, smiling as the cat stretched and yawned on his lap. Will took a seat next to Nico on the couch. He looked around at the papers and notebooks that were scattered over the coffee table. Nico’s laptop was open, showing a Word document on its screen.

“What were you doing?” Will asked

“A paper. Assignment for my Cultural Diversity and Justice class.”

Will whistled. “Sounds interesting, babe. But the most important question is, have you eaten anything yet?”

Nico gently put the kitten on the carpet, right next to the couch. He brought his glasses back down to his nose and took his laptop from the coffee table.

“Well?”

Nico shrugged his shoulders. “I had some yogurt.”

“And when was that?”

It took a while before Nico answered. “Like…at noon?”

Will groaned. It was almost seven in the evening. “You’ve promised me you’re going to eat more.”

“The due date for this paper is this Friday, Will.”

“Which is still, like… three days from now!”

Nico huffed. “I want to finish it now.”

Will sighed, but then he stood up. He ruffled Nico’s hair, then bowed down a little to kiss the crown of Nico’s head.

“Stay here,” he said. “I’ll whip something up for you so you don’t starve.”

Between the two of them, Nico was surely the better cook. In fact, Nico often said that cooking was one of the things he considered a part of his Italian heritage. But in times like this, when Nico was too absorbed in something that he was doing, it was Will who would make sure that Nico ate something, even if it meant that Will had to do the cooking. Not that Will was bad at cooking, though. His cooking was decent enough to be edible, thank you very much.

Nico mumbled something about not being hungry, but Will still made his way to the kitchen anyway. He was just about three steps away from the couch when Nico called him.

“Hey, Will?”

“Hmm?” Will turned to look at Nico.

Nico brushed some strands of his hair away from his forehead when he lifted his head up to look at Will. “You left your guitar here. I put it in the bedroom.”

“Oh! Yeah, right! It’s okay, you can keep it here,” Will said.

Nico rolled his eyes. He looked down again at his laptop. “The next time you leave your things here, at least put them where they won’t block the way. I tripped on that stupid guitar last night.”

Will grinned. “You know you love the guitar, darl.”

(And Will loved it when Nico played the guitar. Which wasn’t new or surprising. Will loved everything that Nico did anyway.)

An hour later, they had some honey garlic chicken for dinner, where Nico exclaimed that he wasn’t sure that Shakespeare could sleep well in a new place with a total stranger. So, of course, Will decided that yeah, he could stay for the night.

Later that night, Will managed to drag Nico to bed before midnight. But before they went to bed, they spent 10 minutes creating a makeshift bed for Shakespeare from a box and some old blankets. Now Shakespeare was sleeping peacefully in it, while Nico and Will lay down side by side on Nico’s bed.

“I still can’t believe you got me a kitten.”

Will shrugged, and started playing with Nico’s hair. He loved feeling the silky strands on his fingers. “I think it will be nice to have a cat here. To make this place feel more like home for you.”

Nico stayed quiet for a while. He drew some small circles on Will’s chest with his index finger. In the dim light of the night lamp, Will could see the contemplative look on Nico’s expression.

“What are you thinking, darling?”

Nico stretched his lips into a thin line for a second.

“What about you, Will? Do you feel like this place, this apartment… Do you feel like it’s home for you?”

Will smiled softly, and leaned to place a gentle kiss on Nico’s forehead.

“Wherever you are, is where it feels like home for me.”

***

Nico di Angelo was gorgeous.

Not that Will wasn’t aware of that fact before. But it was the first thing that crossed Will’s mind when Nico swung the door open for him that evening.

“Will! Happy birthday!” Nico exclaimed, and tiptoed just a bit so he could peck Will’s lips.

“Thanks,” Will said, still a bit dazed to see Nico. Will stood still for a second, staring at Nico. “Wow,” he said. “You look really nice.”

Nico’s usual attire was dark-colored shirts, sometimes with printed graphics on it. If the weather was cold, he went for hoodies.

(And if half of the ones that Nico usually wore were actually Will’s…well, Will had no problem with it, at all.)

But this evening, Nico was wearing a navy blue button-up shirt. He’d rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. And instead of hanging loosely on his body, this shirt actually fit him, showing his lean muscle.

Nico rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance. But the soft blush on his cheeks betrayed it. Will stepped in, and Nico closed the door behind him.

“Are we going somewhere?” Will asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious about the shirt that he was wearing. Sure, it was a clean and quite decent shirt. But compared to how his boyfriend looked now…

“What? No. I’ve told you, I’ll cook dinner for you.”

“Yeah, but…you’re dressed up. Like you’re going somewhere nice. Like there’s something special.”

Nico rolled his eyes again, but then he smiled shyly at Will. “Of course it’s special. It’s your birthday.” He kissed Will’s cheek. “You are special, tesoro.”

Will’s heart suddenly felt too big for his chest.

“Oh,” he said, wanting to say something to that but couldn’t really find the words. “Okay,” he said, and let Nico take his hand.

“Come on,” Nico said, pulling Will along with him to the kitchen area. Then Will saw the dining table.

Oh.

The small table was set up for two people. The table was covered with a dark red tablecloth. A small but elegant bouquet of red roses and white carnations was on the table. And there were candles!

(Okay so Will was a sucker for aromatic candles so what?)

Nico turned around, and looked up at Will. There was a mixed look of hope and hesitation in his eyes. “So, do you like it?”

Will stared at Nico’s dark eyes. “You…did this for me?”

Nico hummed softly as he nodded. “It’s your birthday.”

Something inside Will melted like warm honey. He wrapped his arms around Nico and pulled him into a tight embrace. He kissed the top of Nico’s head.

“Thank you, darling,” he whispered. “I love it.”

Nico pulled away just a little. When he looked up at Will, his eyes sparkling like the stars were trapped behind them. “Anything for you, tesoro.”

“Now,” Nico said, and took Will’s hand again to lead him to the table. “I have spent the whole afternoon preparing a three-course dinner that deserves a Michelin star. So have a seat and don’t make my cooking go to waste.”

Will chuckled as he sat down. “You know, you can still change your major to culinary or something…”

Nico hummed as he walked to the kitchen counter. He walked back to the table, holding two plates.

“Yeah, that’s something that I can consider as my alternative career, I guess…” he said as he put down one of the plates in front of Will. “But for now, you have the honor to be the one who tastes my marvelous cooking.”

Will let out a small laugh. “As you said, I am honored,” he said. He took his fork and knife, and started eating.

Nico was serious about the three-course meal. They started with some delightfully tasty anchovy crostini for the appetizer. The main course was risotto with shrimp and peas, wonderfully seasoned with saffron. To end the dinner, they had some tiramisu, that for Will was something to die for.

Will already knew that Nico was good at cooking. But to know how Nico really took some time to prepare everything for his birthday…It was just something that made Will’s heart fill with warmth. Sometimes he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have Nico. Sometimes he just couldn’t believe that Nico, the boy that he loved, loved him back.

“So,” Will said, leaning back on his chair with a full stomach. “What’s next?”

Nico hummed as he took the empty plates. He put them on the sink, then sat back across from Will. He lifted his glass and sipped his wine before he asked Will back. “What do you think?”

Will shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. But watching Queer Eye while cuddling sounds like a really good idea.”

“It is. But don’t you want to get your birthday gift?”

Will’s eyes widened. “What? But I thought this dinner was already your gift for me.”

Nico’s eyes were soft as he smiled at Will. “You can say so, but I still have a gift for you.”

Nico stood up, and Will watched him as he walked to the cabinets. Nico opened one of the cabinets, the one that he dedicated to storing different kinds of pasta (he once spent a good half an hour teaching Will the differences between each type). He took something out from it and walked back to Will.

“I hope you like it,” Nico said as he gave a small black box to Will. A thin gold-colored ribbon was tied into a bow on the top of the box, holding the lid of the box in place.

Will took the box. It’s small, but too big for a ring box.

(Not that he was thinking of engagement rings, of course, or thinking about being proposed to. Nope. Not at all.)

(Yeah, he already had this jar where he saved some money that he  had planned to spend on a decent pair of rings but, no, of course he wasn’t thinking of it at all.)

He lifted his head up, looking at Nico that was already sitting back in front of him. Nico looked a bit nervous.

“Can I open it?” Will asked.

Nico nodded. “Go ahead.”

Will untied the ribbon and opened the lid. He gasped a little when he saw what was in the box.

A key was in the box, along with a round black key chain. Will carefully picked the key up and studied the key chain. On one side, an intricate sun was engraved on it, while a lyre was beautifully engraved on the other side.

“It’s Stygian iron. The key chain,” Nico said.

Will lifted his head up. “Is it…the key…?”

Nico gave him a single nod. “It’s the key to this apartment.”

“And you’re giving it to me. As a birthday gift.”

Will looked at the key in his hand again. Feeling strangely breathless.

“Well,” Nico said, and paused to clear his throat. “I mean… I like it. When you spend the time here. Or when you stay for the night. And... Yeah. This is just…a small apartment. But when you’re here, it feels like home.”

Will held the key tightly, something warm and sweet running through his veins.

“Thank you,” he said to Nico, voice cracking a bit with emotion.

“And. Uhm.” Nico paused to clear his throat again. “Well. I was just…thinking. You…we have like…four weeks more before the Spring semester ends? So. You’ll start your last year in college this year. I was thinking…”

Nico stopped, and he took a deep breath. Will watched him. His heartbeat doubled while he was waiting for Nico to continue.

“So. Will. I was thinking. What do you think of moving in? To this apartment?” Nico asked, holding his eyes at Will.

Will’s face broke into a wide smile as happiness glowed inside his chest. “Oh, Death Boy…”

Nico closed his eyes as he groaned. He opened his eyes and shook his head. “Nope. Never mind. Forget that I ever asked.”

Will grinned as he lifted the key up, showing it to Nico. “Sorry. It’s too late. I already have the key.”

Nico huffed. But then he smiled shyly. “So, I take it as a yes?”

Will leaned forward, and took Nico’s hand to hold it. “Of course it’s a yes, Nico. I’ll move in with you. We’ll make this apartment a home for us together.”

***

Notes: 1. Thank you for reading. Any feedbacks are always welcomed :) 2. Check out other works submitted to @solangeloweek. All of them are wonderful

[mosswillow]

The People You Love Chapter 13

A/N: Hey, look at me not being lazy and adding the chapter to Tumblr too.

Warnings and Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe, Eventual Smut, Protective Ben Solo, Alpha Ben Solo, Omega Rey (Star Wars), Mating, Cycles/In Heat, Mating Bond, Knotting, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Emotional, Hurt/Comfort, Dubious Consent, unconscious medical procedure (chapter 6), Emotional Hurt, Suicidal thoughts (very mild no actual planning) ch 8, Did I already mention emotional hurt?, Emotional hurt (once more for good measure.) Slow Burn, Implied/referenced attempted suicide (not described in detail) (not Rey) (ch 15), some violence, Attempted Kidnapping, Attempted assault (ch 14)

AO3 link

By clicking keep reading you confirm that you’re an adult over the age of 18

The seconds tick closer to midnight and Rey gets to work digging through her room. She finds a bag and fills it with some papers from her file, clothes, the money card Leia gave her, and toiletries. Minutes before it’s time to run the room becomes clear, like she put on a pair of glasses. It’s sharp and bright, every detail jumping out at her. The specs of dust in the air float around her and she stares at the room taking in every detail. Her head starts feeling light and she realizes she’s stopped breathing. There’s hesitation. Anxiety. Maybe it’s fear or maybe guilt, she doesn’t know. Her mind turns to what will happen to the Solo’s. She knows, even though she doesn’t want to admit it, that running away from them will fuck their lives up. The moment she leaves her room she’ll be doing something she can’t take back.

It takes several deep breaths and hyping herself up to cut the bracelet and climb out of the window. The climb down is easier this time. She hits the ground after a few short minutes and starts running, making it down the street before she has to stop to catch her breath. She feels elated, free and happy, the world is open to her.

Then the initial adrenaline rush dissipates and her heartrate settles. She’s left alone in a dark alleyway. It’s a sliver of freedom and she wonders if it will be worth it. She hopes so.

She makes her way to the closest bus stop and reads the map, running her hand over the spot where Finn and Poe’s house is. She knows it’s where she needs to go. It’s the only way she can think to get home.

“Where to honey?” A tired looking woman says.

Rey almost turns around and goes back. What if the letter says something she doesn’t want to hear? What if something terrible happens? She takes a deep breath and hands over her money card before climbing in a large bus to start her journey. The island was an illusion, it held a life that did not exist. The illusion is broken now and all that’s left is the reality that the facade was built around. Rey is tired of everyone knowing more about her than herself. Even if something horrible happens or if what she finds out breaks her heart she has to go. She can’t live her life knowing that there’s truth out there and she didn’t go find it when she got the chance.

-o-

It takes over twenty four hours to finally reach the charming little house she once knew. Rey was so focused on getting away that she hadn’t considered how it would feel to be back. As she stands outside hyping herself up she goes through a range of different emotions. Anger at first that they gave her away without even talking to her first. Then she feels a sense of loss thinking about how much she cared for them, how she felt loved and safe and like she was part of a family. She misses that feeling and it hits her that she may never feel that way again.

She waits until she’s sure they’re fast asleep before walking to the back door and trying the handle. It turns easily; they never did lock the doors. She tiptoes through the house and stops at a picture frame. It’s her, she doesn’t even know when it was taken. She picks it up and looks at it, almost feeling guilty about what she has to do.

“Your mate called, told us when you would be here. He wants you to call him.”

Rey jumps and looks over to see Finn and Poe standing across the room. She puts the photo down and makes eye contact.

“Are you going to call him now?”

“Do you want us to?”

“Does it matter?”

Finn slowly walks towards Rey and she backs up in response looking at Finn with distrust and heartbreak. He stops and slackens his shoulders.

“We should have told you before he showed up here, we were afraid you would run off.”

Rey crosses her arms and takes another step back.

“Why are you here Rey, are you ok?” Finn asks.

Rey looks back and forth between Finn and Poe before dropping her arms and giving up.

“My grandfather left me something on the island.”

There’s a pause and then Rey watches their eyebrows raise in unison as they understand.

“You need our boat.”

Rey nods.

“So you were just going to steal it?”

She nods again.

“I was going to bring it back after.”

“We could get in a lot of trouble for helping you, you know that right?” Poe says.

Rey walks over to the couch and plops down putting her face in her lap. Finn comes next to her and rubs small circles on her back.

“We’ll take you there,” He says quietly.

Rey pauses for a moment as his words wash through her. She feels a mix of relief and resignation. Even in the time she was on her own she still had to rely on others. She puts her arm around Finn and leans against him. Maybe relying on others isn’t a bad thing and fighting the instinct to form attachments only ends up leaving her hurt. She doesn’t trust Finn and Poe, at least not the way she did before but she also isn’t angry.

“Thank you.” She whispers

They don’t waste much time. Poe makes a sandwich for Rey and they hitch up the boat. It’s a long and cold ride to the island. Seeing land is a relief and yet Rey finds herself unable to move as they dock. The night she left was one the most difficult of her life. Flashbacks play in her head and she half expects a group of men to come running at her from the house.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Poe asks

“No,” She breathes before steadying herself and starting the walk to the house.

The island looks exactly the same and somehow wildly different than what she remembers. As she looks around at all the familiar rocks and trees she begins to understand that the island isn’t what’s different, She is. Her eyes have changed, giving her the ability to see the headache inducing complexity of shapes and colors that were blended and muddied before. Beautiful memories of her childhood sit beside the knowledge of lies and control. She can see it all and it overwhelms her.

It doesn’t take her long to find where the letter is hidden. She opens it with shaky hands and reads the last words her grandfather wrote to her.

-o-

Rey,

You probably have so many questions and I’ll do my best to answer them before I have to do what I have to do. I’m going to die now, I’ll make sure they kill me or I’ll shoot myself. I can’t be brought in and questioned. If they find you they’ll use you against me until I crack. There are people who count on me, what I know could bring down an entire organization.

You’re what’s called an Omega. The medication I give you suppresses it, but even with the medication it’s who you are. Omegas are kind and caring, meant to serve others. They’re also strong and resilient, I know you’ll escape this island. I’ve included directions to a safe house that I had set up just in case. Rey, I only have one month of medication for you. When it runs out you’ll go into what is called a heat. It will be painful but you’ll be ok. Do not leave the safehouse after you run out of suppressants. People will be able to tell you’re an Omega and you will be in danger. I have it arranged for someone to bring food and supplies to you for as long as you need it. You won’t have to worry about anything and can spend as much time as you need living there, even your whole life if you want.

There’s a family, the Solo’s. A man, Ben Solo, was assigned to be your mate when you were just a little girl. They’re a good family and one day when you're ready they’ll protect you and love you. There's a file about them at the safehouse. They’re the ones who are here now but their issue isn’t with you, it’s with me. They think that I’ve been hurting you for the past several years.

You’re probably wondering why, why didn’t I tell you about any of this.

Twenty years ago I made a decision that ended up haunting me forever. I gave the go ahead to kidnap the child of a politician, one who was my friend. My men tortured this child and sent him back to his parents broken. We needed to get a law passed that now feels so trivial. I lost my soul that day and five years later, in direct consequence to that choice I lost my son and his wife, your parents. They tried to take you too that night to return the favor, thankfully they didn’t succeed. That boy is now a man and what I didn’t consider 20 years ago is that I may have been creating a monster, and by monster I mean someone exactly like me. Be careful Rey, there are people in this world who want to hurt you. It’s not fair but life never is.

I brought you here after your parents died vowing to keep you safe, to raise you right and give you a childhood away from pain, one I hadn’t given your father. I was supposed to hand you off to the Solo’s when you turned eighteen but the day you presented as an Omega and I saw your pain I did something rash, I gave you my suppressants. I just wanted a little more time with you but as soon as my medication wore off all those feelings of inadequacy and failure to protect your father came crashing back. I let myself spiral into my Alpha biology. Even as I write this I feel a sense of intense need to protect you. I failed to protect my Omega and failed my child. I can’t fail you Rey. I kept telling myself that one day I would have to let you go but every time I thought about it I just couldn’t. It may be selfish but I couldn’t let go of you. It turns out that life isn’t worth much without the people you love, and I love you Rey.

I hope I did the right thing. I hope that when you come out of your hiding place and find this letter you’ll understand why I did everything I did.

I love you Rey

-Grandfather.

Rey lets the letter fall to the ground. She starts taking steps back until she hits the wall. She doesn’t know what she was expecting, for there to be some explanation that would make everything ok, that would refute everything she’s been told about him. It doesn’t.

What hurts her now is that she doesn’t feel anger. He was her captor, lied to her just as much as everyone else in her life. If he was standing in front of her now she would scream at him and lock herself away. She would run from the island and not look back. He’s not in front of her though, he’s dead, and she loved him. She feels deep and true love for someone who murdered, tortured, lied, a criminal. How can she love someone like that? Her chest tightens and she starts feeling lightheaded.

What if she had stayed hidden like she was supposed to that evening? What if she came out and found the letter, had time to process everything and decide when and if she wanted to call the Solo’s.

She feels tired and trapped. It doesn’t feel good to be back on the island, it feels just as much a prison as the Solo’s house and she wants to leave. She gathers the letter and directions to the safe house.

She has one more thing she has to see, hopefully she’s able to. Hopefully the cleverly hidden security system wasn't found during the ransacking of her home. She walks to the hidden cabinet and uses her thumb print hoping that it will let her in.

And it does.

-o-

“Where is she?” Ben asks.

“Don’t worry Solo, we’ll find your little Omega after we deal with him.”

Knight. She didn’t know he was there. She didn’t notice any of them that night, only Ben, only her Alpha.

“You can come nicely.” Knight gives a sly smile as he pulls out a gun

“Or not.”

Sheev pulls out a pistol in turn and Ben looks back and forth between the men.

“You have three seconds to leave before I start shooting… Three,” Sheev starts.

Knight smiles and Ben's eyes widen.

“Two,” He continues.

“Don’t,” Ben cries but it’s too late. The shot is firing off and Ben is standing there shocked, looking at the blood pouring out of sheev.

“One,” Knight finishes.

“You weren’t supposed to kill him.” Ben says.

“He was torturing your girl wasn’t he?”

“I wanted but… This is not… You aimed for his head… You murdered him.” Ben says. He looks away from the scene and his eyes land on something.

“Rey.” He breathes “Don’t you fucking go near her Knight.” He yells before running out of frame.

-o-

Rey doesn't even react, her mind won’t let her. She slowly turns off the monitor and walks to her old bedroom, looking around at the mess all over the floor. She finds her little stuffed stingray and stands there with it for a few minutes before walking all the way to the ocean.

She wades in, holds the stuffed animal to her chest, and lets herself feel. She feels everything all at once, from her parents death to the moment she stepped out of that window, the good and bad. There's use in objects that comfort, that remind someone of their past and where they came from. There’s also use in letting go. In realizing that there’s no going back and the only way forward is to say goodbye. In taking a quiet moment to thank an object before letting it go. It’s symbolic but sometimes symbolism can be so strong that it becomes reality.

“I love you,” She whispers.

Rey lets the little stingray fall into the ocean and be carried away and with it goes a weight she’s held in her for as long as she can remember.

She makes her way back to the boat, stopping when she sees a little flower. She leans over and picks it wavering with it for several moments before putting it in her bag.

“Did it go well?”

Rey settles in the boat and gives a small smile.

“Yes, I think so at least.”

-o-

Rey is exhausted by the time they arrive back. She doesn’t feel safe there though. The safe house isn’t far, a few hours to walk. She can make it, she knows she can. She may fall over from exhaustion by the time she arrives but she has to go.

“we can give you a ride wherever you need.”

“It’s better you don’t know where I’m going, safer that way for all of us.”

Poe disappears inside of the hose and Finn pulls Rey into a hug. Poe comes back and stuffs some food in her bag before joining them in the hug. He looks at her awkwardly.

“He wasn’t coming after you. He knew where you were. You used a money card Rey, they can be tracked.”

Rey bites her lip and looks down feeling dumb for not knowing that.

“I think he genuinely just wanted to know you’re safe. There was something he wasn’t saying, I don’t know.”

“Thank you.” Rey says as she pulls away.

It’s bittersweet, seeing them and now leaving. Rey takes a step back and then turns away.

“Stay safe Rey,” Finn calls out as she walks slowly down the driveway.

She turns back and gives one last smile and wave before turning on the road.